Remnant Warriors
by Magnus9284
Summary: After seeing the Grimm situation on the world of Remnant, a cosmic entity decided to send help in the shape of a ruthless visionary, a steadfast bodyguard, a zealous hero and a noble traitor. For good or ill, history will be changed by the masters of war.
1. An unintended End

**Magnus:** Hello and welcome to this new story. For those of you wondering why I'm not updating my other stories please go to my profile for an explanation. I certainly needed something new, to start again and hopefully to not stop ever again. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this story.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing, though I wish I could have participated with Monty on his wonderful creations.

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 **Remnant Warriors**

 **Chapter 1**

 **An unintended end.**

Honnouji was engulfed in fire, hundreds of soldiers were burned alive or skewered by arrows, all gates surrounded, and screams of panic and hate filled the air, but in the heart of all of this, inside of a building set ablaze, a single man remained calm, seemingly uncaring that these were the final hours of his life…

"Nobunaga-sama! You need to get out of here!" Ranmaru shouted while blasting open the doors, nodachi at the ready to cleave any possible intruders, the concern in his rather feminine voice was painfully obvious, just like his dedication to his master. Nobunaga watched the one who perhaps was the only one to ever understand his mission, his only real friend in his crusade.

"There is no need, my time has come to an end, and it would be foolish to pretend otherwise." Nobunaga replied with a calmness that was completely out of place with the situation, more akin to an old man in a peaceful bed, and not a warlord about to be burn alive.

"But my lord, who will rule the land now? Without your vision to guide us, we are all doomed!" Ranmaru pleaded with fire in his eyes, and passion in his heart. He had no doubt that his master had everything planed, but it didn't make it any easier to let him depart.

"Someone else will have to do it; my vision will come to fruition, I won the moment I forced our enemies to throw away their old ways, and no one can stop the tide of change. I won, and I regret nothing." Nobunaga declared, with pride in his voice and a smile on his face. Ranmaru could only stare at his master wide eyed, but not with doubt, anger, or incredulity, but with admiration.

"If that is how history is going to be written, then I'll stay by your side until the end, my lord." Ranmaru calmly declared while kneeling down at Nobunaga's side, who could only stare at him with surprise in his eyes.

"You don't have to." Nobunaga softly said, half expecting to see his friend take the offer and flee.

"No. But I want to." Ranmaru replied with a smile on his face.

"As you wish, my dear friend." Nobunaga replied with a smile of his own, he was finally at peace, knowing he will spend his last moment with a real friend. With no more need for words, both of them waited patiently for their end to come, either by flame or by steel they'll face it together. They didn't have to wait for long…

"NOBUNAGA!" Mitsuhide shouted while violently entering the hall with his shining katana at hand, this was half expected by lord of the Oda clan; what was not expected was for another man to follow Mitsuhide's entrance.

"Prepare to face Justice!" A man wearing white robes over some pieces of armor shouted in a zealous voice, wielding a straight sword with a broad tip on his right hand and paper charms on his left, although the helmet with the large kanji for 'Love' was his most distinctive feature.

"Now this is a surprise! I didn't expect to see you again, Kanetsugu. I don't know if to feel honored to be slain by your hand, or sorry for seeing you being tricked into this fight!" Nobunaga greeted the man in white, who didn't let his guard down.

"Your words will not affect us, you will no longer run rampant destroying entire clans, nor will you sow chaos within the land!" Mitsuhide declared while entering his battle stance, ready for the final showdown.

"HA! So you finally got what it takes to be your own lord. Still seeing me as a ruthless demon after slaughtering the families of my soldiers?" Nobunaga asked while readying his long sword, already covered by dark energy.

"Mitsuhide, you said that there were only soldiers here. You never told me about the women and children!" Kanetsugu shouted back at the samurai, for this was against his moral code.

"There was no other chance and I'll take the blame for this transgression; for now let's focus on stopping the demon king, for good." Mitsuhide replied, thinking that maybe tricking Kanetsugu was not the best of the ideas, but he lacked confidence to face Nobunaga and Ranmaru at the same time.

"Poor little Mitsuhide… Condemning himself to live in this chaotic world without the guidance of our lord…" Ranmaru said with a condescending tone while standing up and reading his nodachi.

The four were ready for this final battle, ready to decide the fate of a nation within the next minutes, but it wasn't meant to be, because the building couldn't resist a second more, and without warning the ceiling caved in, trapping the warriors in a fiery tomb. The last thing they saw before losing consciousness was a bright light and the intense flames falling upon them…

For a moment, Nobunaga thought that all descriptions of the afterlife were wrong, this wasn't like what the faiths of his land had described, for there was absolutely nothing on sight, only an empty white and an otherworldly feeling of… something. If he had to call a reference, he would probably pick something from the western culture; 'limbo' came to his mind after a while.

"My lord? Where are we?" Ranmaru's voice forced Nobunaga to turn around with mildly surprise, although his hopes of not spending eternity alone were crushed by the prospect of spending it along Mitsuhide and Kanetsugu, who were slowly waking up.

"I don't know, Ranmaru. But at least I can count on not having to face this new adventure alone." Nobunaga replied, while helping his friend to stand up.

"Ow… My head…" Kanetsugu complained while slowly standing up, although he gave up midway, and instead decided to sit in a lotus position.

"What happened?" Mitsuhide asked to no one in particular while standing up, still too dazed to notice his surroundings, or the lack of such.

"It seems to me that you succeeded, although with unintended consequences. Congratulations anyway." Nobunaga replied, although it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or not, this of course earned Mitsuhide's attention.

"YOU!" Mitsuhide screamed with murderous rage while reaching for his katana, just to find that he no longer had it. His confusion, along with the confusion of the others, was short lived, for another presence appeared before them.

 **There is no need for violence. You can't fight and bleed anymore.**

A bright light appeared and spoke to them, as if chastising a group of children. Kanetsugu was the first to react to the presence; he instantly changed from his sitting position to a kneeling reverence.

"Oh Kami-sama! Please forgive our disrespect!" At Kanetsugu's words, the rest of the warriors knelt down too, although Nobunaga was doubtful about the identity of the presence.

 **I'm not your god, but your apology is accepted.**

When the presence replied, the four warriors were filled with surprise and fear, for none knew what to expect.

"Then who are you? And what is this place?" Nobunaga finally asked with a firm voice, although not with disrespect.

 **In this place you will wait for the time to judge your souls in accordance to your actions. As for who am I… I'm the watcher of your fate.**

As the voice replied, the warriors finally began to understand the situation, they indeed died, and now were in wait for their final destination, it was somewhat comforting, liberating even…

"If that is so, then where are the others that died before us, or along us? I don't see my wife, or any of my men along with us." Nobunaga asked with an even firmer voice, in his eyes, this scenario was not to his liking, there was something else at play here; this also made the others to turn toward the light, for now they were aware of what Nobunaga meant, the place should be filled with soldiers from both sides, not only them.

 **You were separated from the rest because all of you had unfinished destinies.**

With that reply, the four warriors grimaced; they didn't like the idea of becoming ghosts, or anything similar, this was made worse when they began to hear their disembodied voices…

 _" **I wanted to fulfill my vision, and see my country united and moving forward as a strong nation, evolving continuously to face the rest of the world and its constant changes…"**_ Nobunaga simply nodded at his own words, while Kanetsugu and Mitsuhide stared at him, astonished by the revelation of his ultimate plan.

 _" **I wanted to be by my lord's side, to help him to fulfill his vision in any way I could…"**_ Ranmaru simply smiled at his words, earning a pat on the shoulder by Nobunaga himself, and a roll of eyes from the other two, they actually expected to hear those words, but it didn't made it any less corny.

 _" **I'll become Shogun! I'll restore the country to its former path of honor!"**_ Mitsuhide frowned at his words, they were true, but felt that the others had no right to know them, especially Kanetsugu, who was now glaring at him.

 _" **My wedding is in one month, I can't wait to start a family of my own, and teach my children to fight for love and justice, for the glory of the Uesugi clan!"**_ Kanetsugu simply shed a tear when he heard his words, he barely knew his betrothed, but he really was looking forward to that day; he was caught off guard by Nobunaga, who placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"For whatever it is worth, I'm sorry. The world really lost a worthy line of men and women with your death." Nobunaga's words were sincere, and Kanetsugu could only accept them with gratitude; Mitsuhide could only scoff at the scene, which in turn made Ranmaru glare at him.

 **Your situation is a most unfavorable one, as it means you most likely have to wait until the end of times to be properly judged.**

As the voice continued, the warriors understood that an eternity as ghosts awaited them, which filled them with dread, especially Ranmaru, who didn't know if he would remain by the side of his lord.

 **I offer you an alternative.**

This gained the attention of the group, as it promised a chance of avoiding the horrible fate that awaited them.

 **I have number of wishes that I can grant you after the completion of a number of special tasks. What you use these whishes for, is up to you.**

"Can you return us to life to complete our destinies with these wishes?!" Mitsuhide immediately asked, voice filled with hope, and perhaps a little bit of greed; Kanetsugu envisioned himself with his desired family, but Nobunaga sensed that something was off.

 **Yes.**

Was the simple answer of the voice and three of the four warriors perked at this.

"What are these tasks?" Nobunaga asked, he was no less eager, but still cautious.

 **There is a land besieged by darkness, where a group of white knights fight in and unrelenting war on all fronts against this threat. Your task will be to help each of these knights to find what they need to keep going before the abyss claims them forever.**

The explanation was ambiguous enough to give hope to the warriors, for it sounded like they were really needed, but the questions began to form. Do they need vision and strategy? Do they need an honorable leader to guide them? Inspiration to become a shining light in the darkness?

"I will go. Wishes or not, these knights can count with my sword to help them against the darkness, and my strength to aid them in their time of need." Kanetsugu declared, standing now with his face held high, he just couldn't say no to this challenge.

"I will go too. I'll save both lands; I swear this by my honor." Mitsuhide replied, standing tall and proud, he had a mission to accomplish, and if he had to fight another war to do it, so be it. Once Nobunaga heard both of them, he turned to Ranmaru, who simply nodded to him, as if assuring him of his support.

"We'll go. It is obvious that this people will need vision and strategy if they want to accomplish anything at all." Nobunaga added his own appointment, with Ranmaru standing firmly by his side; if he referred to the white knights with his words, or his other two companions, was not specified.

 **Very well then, you have made your choice, and now I'll send you to this land to begin your tasks.**

As the voice spoke, a large circle of light surrounded the four warriors, and they began to feel something changing within their bodies, this of course scared them.

"What are you doing to us?!" Ranmaru shouted his alarmed question.

 **Your life time has reached its end, in order to allow you the time to complete your tasks I have to give you enough years to do so; this in turn will turn you younger. This will not have any effect on your memories, any change in your physical capabilities remains to be seen.**

The voice's explanation made sense to a point, but there was another question in the air.

"How will we find them?" Nobunaga asked, and both Mitsuhide and Kanetsugu had to resist the urge to face palm, for they didn't thought about that problem.

 **That is part of your task.**

And with that final answer, the light engulfed the four warriors once more, and they were gone. Soon the light of the voice dimmed until it was gone, and was replaced by a man in a pure white suit, the grin on his face was extremely unnerving.

"Oh! I'm going to have soooo much fun watching these four! I need to create some popcorn and a recording device. Good thing they won't be missed, not that three footnotes in history books would matter, and the other one was supposed to die anyway, can't believe they fell for the destiny bullshit though!" The man said to himself, the smile never leaving his face.

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 **Magnus:** This should suffice for an introduction, any doubts on their appearances or fighting skills can be cleared either by googling the names of the characters or by looking for them in Youtube, unless you are a history buff, or a fan of the games. On a side notes, I wonder if someone will be able to guess the name of the team they are going to make?


	2. Welcome to Remnant

**Magnus:** Here goes the new chapter; I hope this helps to understand the characters a little more, and to explain how they will be linked in the story.

 **Disclaimer:** Already posted on chapter 1

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 **Chapter 2**

 **Welcome to Remnant**

When the light faded, the warriors noticed that they were now in a very rich forest, full of trees that no one has seen before, a clear sign that they were far from home, away from everything they knew. The first thing they did was to check what they had carried, and were happy to find that their weapons were now with them, their comfortable weight and well cared edges brought a sense of relief to their minds, for at least they weren't defenseless.

"Well, here we are, wherever here may be." Ranmaru calmly stated, eyeing the forest around them, they were in the middle of a clearing, and the sun was about to hide in the horizon, he was surprised to feel a little younger, although by the lack of changes he supposed that he wasn't more than a couple of years below twenty, which wasn't more than a couple of years younger than he was to begin with.

"At least we weren't thrown in the middle of a fight." Nobunaga replied, and then covered his mouth in surprise, for his voice sounded different, younger, like back when he was a teenager eager to learn, but his surprise was minimal if Ranmaru's reaction was taken into consideration, for he instantly turned to face him, with eyes so wide that it seemed that they were about to pop out.

"M-M-M-My lord?!" Ranmaru stuttered while pointing a trembling finger at the young man in front of him, he was dressed just like Nobunaga, but this boy couldn't be older than him, also he had no mustache.

"Calm down, Ranmaru. We were warned about being changed physically, reduced in age even." Nobunaga replied, sounding really weird using such level of wisdom with the voice of a youngster.

"Y-yes… that's true…" Ranmaru conceded, not feeling any less weird by the situation.

"True as that may be, I find this a little too extreme." The young voice belonged to no other than Kanetsugu, this caught the others by surprise, as he sounded much less younger than he looked right now.

"I take it we were turned to be around the same age?" Nobunaga asked with a raised eyebrow, earning thoughtful expressions from the others.

"You mean, below twenty?" Kanetsugu asked, also taking a look at his clothes, apparently adjusted to his less muscular body.

"Maybe seventeen?" Ranmaru nervously asked, he had yet to stop stealing glances to his lord, who looked dead spot on the same apparent age as him.

"That seems like a good guess, Ranmaru. Mitsuhide, I don't think this is the time to start killing each other." Nobunaga replied, first to his loyal friend, and then to the one who had yet to speak. Ranmaru unsheathed his nodachi lightning fast, putting himself between his lord and the traitor, ready to fight to the death.

"Quite the contrary, Nobunaga, now would be a very good moment to put an end to your cursed existence. I'd rather have one task incomplete than risking you returning home with us, you won't continue you path of madness, neither back home nor here; don't you agree, Kanetsugu?" Mitsuhide stated, ready to finish what he started at Honnouji, unfortunately, things had changed for him.

"I disagree, Mitsuhide." Kanetsugu replied, already taking out some of his paper charms, consulting the heavens for directions, the call of the god that gave them all an opportunity was more important to him that their status as enemies, that, and he couldn't see Nobunaga as evil right now.

"WHAT?! Are you just going to allow him to get a wish out of a god? After everything he has done?!" Mitsuhide called back, attempting to bring up Kanetsugu's sense of justice.

"While I do not approve his methods, I do understand his reasoning; he did not act beyond the boundaries of what the other lords may have done. All of us accepted the mission from this god, so it stands to reason that all of us must complete it to be rewarded. Make no mistake, I will not shed a tear if Nobunaga or Ranmaru were to die during this campaign, but neither I'd get angry or disappointed if they become a force of good, or if they find their rightful place in this land, so far away from our home." Kanetsugu answered, earning nods of approval from both Nobunaga and Ranmaru, and allowing Mitsuhide to cool down enough to lower his weapon.

"I… see. Yes, I understand your point. But don't think I'll ever let my guard down while he still lives!" Mitsuhide replied, glaring at Nobunaga while Kanetsugu finalized his ritual, this of course earned a chuckle from Nobunaga, which sounded much less evil with his new youthful voice, although no less irritating.

"That's reasonable enough, for you at least. Kanetsugu, did you get an answer from the heavens?" Nobunaga interjected, first mocking at Mitsuhide, and then addressing the battle monk, the respect he showed to the adept of Bishamon unnerved Mitsuhide, to a greater degree.

"Yes, the favor of the heavens awaits south-west from our location, but I'm afraid we'll meet the darkness long before we get anywhere nearby our destination." Kanetsugu replied with a very serious voice, already unsheathing his sword, and taking a handful of paper charms.

"MY LORD! THE MOON!" Ranmaru called, scared and confused, pointing toward the night sky, toward the natural satellite, shattered.

"What?! How?!" Mitsuhide shared his astonishment, as the night fell upon them during their squabble, the heavens decided to show them that they were, quite literally, no longer home, the sound of Nobunaga's sword being readied brought them out of their stupor though.

"There is no time to sightseeing right now, we got company; no wonder the Uesugi were so well prepared for battle, the heavens really love you, Kanetsugu." Nobunaga called to attention, just as growls sounded from the depth of the forest, Ranmaru and Mitsuhide were now ready to fight, joining the other two in a circle to protect each other's back, all animosity forgotten, for now.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Demon King." Kanetsugu replied in good spirits, he was looking forward to this, to face the darkness of this land, and let it taste the light he carried. Soon they were able to see their enemy, beasts, black like the deepest shadows, covered in bones white as the death, their bright red eyes reflected blood lust and hatred, they were the embodiment of everything that is evil; but in the eyes of the four warriors, this only meant that the beasts deserved no mercy or consideration. The beasts then launched their assault, and the warriors let them taste their steel and will.

Beacon academy – Headmaster's office.

Ozpin checked the camera feed for what was the tenth time, and he couldn't help but to frown more than the last time, it was not the fact that four youngsters had had appeared so deep within the ever fall, much less that they had shown to be remarkable fighters, either graduates from a good combat school, or members of the nomad tribes; what had the headmaster worried was the time the video feed was showing, the record of the battle started by sunset, and it was now four in the morning, he silently cursed himself for not setting the sparse surveillance cameras with live feedback, instead of the lengthy updates he had right now.

"Ozpin, is there a reason to wake me up so early?" An irate Glynda Goodwitch said while entering the office, under normal circumstances he would never dare to call her before she had time to take breakfast and coffee, but right now there was no one else he could count for a rescue operation of this type.

"I'm afraid that this is reason enough, I believe there is no need to tell you what is needed to be done." Ozpin said in an unusually serious voice, and then he passed his scroll with the video feed to Glynda, who looked at it with some interest; it took her a minute or so to stop gawking at the battle prowess of the four youngsters, their perfect sword forms, and their remarkable aura manipulation were simply enticing… until she noticed the hour displayed in the video…

"Where?!" Glynda suddenly shouted, she barely held a little bit of hope that the youngsters were still alive.

"Here are the coordinates." Ozpin offered the information, and Glynda winced.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Glynda shouted while storming out, even if she managed to get there fast, there was little hope to even find their corpses.

Two hours later…

Glynda Goodwitch didn't hold much hope on finding the four warriors alive; she even thought that at most she would only recover their weapons and a few scraps of clothes and armor to return to their families, should she ever identify them, so it came as a great surprise that the warriors were still fighting, if only with much less intensity than what the video showed.

"We need to get close and rescue them!" Glynda shouted to the pilot, who was understandably reticent to get anywhere near the grimm infested area.

"We need a clear landing spot for that, a spot we clearly don't have, professor!" The pilot shouted back, the bullhead had weapons, but he was not very confident on their efficiency, this of course infuriated the blond.

"Are you sure you don't want her to be grateful?" Glynda asked while shoving her scroll in a paused image, of the prettiest face the pilot has ever seen, it didn't take another second for the pilot to change his mind.

"Hang in there, beauty! Rescue is coming!" The pilot shouted while accelerating to the clear, Glynda could only roll her eyes at the typical antics of the pilot.

Down in the clear…

It was a mess, and the four warriors knew it; when it began they felt as if the so called darkness was nothing more than a glorified pest problem, with only man shaped wolves that while quick were actually frail, but then they began to see that the number not only didn't dwindle, but instead increased, and of course different types of creatures began to appear too, like the large bear-like monsters, that while slower than the wolves, were far stronger and resistant; the worst came by midnight, when the creatures began to retreat, for a moment they thought that they had won, such thought was crushed when a giant scorpion with massive bone armor charged against them. That one had forced them to work together, and took a long hour to defeat, along with the combined efforts from Ranmaru and Mitsuhide to first cut the tail, and then Nobunaga and Kanetsugu had to pile up the damage, fortunately they learned that the creatures of darkness were quite weak to Kanetsugu's paper charms and prayers, unfortunately that also meant that their most effective weapon was also the most limited. When they finally killed the giant scorpion they thought that there would be respite, instead, the rest of the wolves and bears returned with reinforcements, it had been the longest and most tiresome night of their lives, and they really hoped that the dawn would mark the end of this assault, for they were ready to collapse.

"Just a little more! Dawn will come shortly, and with its light will come our respite!" Kanetsugu shouted as a way of encouraging his companions, but it did little to lift their spirits, he had only five more charms, so he was mostly using his sword, not that it wasn't effective.

"And if that is not the case?!" Mitsuhide asked, just beheading another one of the dark wolves.

"Then we may prove to be unfitted for this task, if this is the most we can do against the tide of the darkness!" Nobunaga replied while impaling another of the beasts, while he sounded tired, he did not sound scared or upset, but more like ready to accept the limit of his strength.

"Don't worry, my lord. As long as I breathe, I won't let any of these beasts touch you!" Ranmaru said while cleaving another wolf that tried to sneak behind Nobunaga, although he was now resenting the weight of his nodachi.

It was then that they heard a sound like a howling beast, followed by the immediate deaths of dozens upon dozens of the creatures of darkness, the warriors turned their heads to the source of the sound, just to find the most strange beast they had seen, a giant metal bird with stiff wings, and every time it howled, streaks of what appeared to be bullets came out from the sides, but so fast and so many that they seemed impossible to dodge, of course they also noticed that the beast was only killing the dark wolves; by the time the sun began to illuminate the area, the clear became much less crowded, as if granting the respite that Kanetsugu divined a moment ago, then the side of the bird opened, revealing a hollow interior, with a woman shouting at them, and weaving for them to enter.

"That's the divine intervention we were waiting for, let's go!" Nobunaga shouted, and the four ran toward the woman as fast as they could, getting inside just before another wave of the dark wolves entered the clear.

Glynda barely had time to take a better look at the youngsters, she just closed the door when she could count four heads, and immediately ordered the pilot to take them back to the academy, when she returned to check on their well being, and most likely to give them a loud lecture on why is so dangerous to explore the woods in the night, she noticed that for once, maybe being nice would be better deserved, since they seemed totally beaten up, specially the one with the ornate helmet, who apparently decided that the floor of the bulkhead was a good place to sleep, although she attributed this to aura exhaustion.

"Very well, children. Care to explain what were you doing in the Forever Fall during the night?" Glynda asked as nicely as she could, which sounded like she was about to explode in a raging rant, which given the circumstances was not illogical.

[Wh-what did she said?] The boy dressed as a samurai asked in a language that Glynda did not recognize, and that truly surprised her, and it showed on her now wide eyes, then she focused more attention to the features of the youngsters, and they truly looked like foreigners.

"You are not from here, are you?" Glynda asked, slowly, and not really hoping for an answer. Apparently she just rescued a group of tribals, which meant that she was testing unknown waters.

[My lord, her words sound like…] Glynda heard the pretty girl talk to the boy with the extravagant upward ponytail, his black plate armor truly made him look intimidating to a degree, but his sharp eyes and potent stare was his most disarming feature.

[It certainly does sound like the language I picked from the west; there is nothing to lose by trying.] Glynda watched with interest as the boy in black replied to the girl, who apparently had a great deal of trust toward him, a couple maybe? Siblings? The boy suddenly cleared his throat, and much to Glynda's surprise, addressed her.

"You speak English?" The boy asked in heavily accented common, and while she didn't know what English was, she certainly understood his words, or at least she hoped to have gotten the correct message.

"I speak common, not English. Do you understand me?" Glynda replied, slowly and clear, trying to facilitate communication, although she was surprised to find that at least one of the boys could understand.

"Yes. We from far away. We going south and west." The boy replied, giving now useful information, at least now Glynda knew they wanted to reach Vale, so that meant they were from a tribe, probably seeking either refuge or a trade alliance, still it bothered her that only one of them knew at least the basics of the common language, so the others probably were security detail.

"We are going south-west now, so you can rest until we arrive." Glynda's words seemed to relax the boy, who then turned to address his companions.

[Well, for now the heavens smile upon us, we are being taken in the direction Kanetsugu suggested, we should rest as much as possible, for there is no telling what we'll find once we get there.] Glynda watched how the girl relaxed and even smiled, which made her look even more beautiful, for a moment she thought that a hug was about to happen, but it didn't go that far.

[I am surprised you could speak to her, I hope this isn't a bad omen.] The young samurai suddenly spoke, and Glynda couldn't help but to feel some animosity in the air, fortunately there was no violence following the statement.

[Don't be ridiculous, my lord wouldn't put us through unnecessary risk, besides, it was Kanetsugu who pointed us in this direction, and he also divined this rescue; if you will not believe in my lord, then believe in the heavens, who seems to favor us with their providence.] The girl replied to the samurai boy, who despite how melodic her voice sounded scrunched his face in obvious disagreement. It was at this point that Glynda decided to make an experiment, and confirm the possible origins of the youngsters.

"I think that a presentation is in order. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. What is your name?" Glynda began to speak, directly to the black armored boy, she found herself pleased when the boy began to quietly repeat her name, as if testing it, and committing it to memory, a true gentleman in the making?

"Glynda, name or family?" The boy suddenly asked, and Glynda took almost a full minute to understand that the boy was asking for naming conventions, which was really strange, not the action, but the fact that someone so young could be so mindful.

"Glynda is my name, Goodwitch is my family name." She replied, and felt some amount of relief to see the boy nodding and smiling.

"My name is Nobunaga Oda." The boy said, placing his hand on his chest, Glynda quickly wrote the name on a paper, or at least she hoped to have written it right, and much to her delight, the boy got closer to his companions, as if to present them himself.

"Name is Ranmaru Mori." Nobunaga said while placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, said girl only gave a nod of acknowledgment, in Glynda's eyes, she seemed extremely well mannered and calm, though it was hard to tell if she was confident on her own skills, or if she felt protected by Nobunaga.

"Name is Kanetsugu Naoe." Nobunaga continued, patting the back of the boy with white robes, who could only groan weakly, earning a sympathetic smile from Glynda.

[If you touch me, I'll kill you.] The young samurai spoke in what Glynda presumed to be a warning, if the glare was any indication, if not, then the way the girl tensed was a dead giveaway.

"Name is Mitsuhide Akechi." Nobunaga finished by weaving his hand in the young samurai's direction, by now Glynda had all the names written to the best of her capabilities, it was now time to test written language.

"These are our words." Glynda said while writing her own name in large and clear letters, she gave the paper to Nobunaga, and then repeated her name while pointing to the paper, the boy smiled and nodded, apparently understanding what was asked of him; when she gave him the pencil though, he seemed slightly confused, but began to write nonetheless, using the pencil like a painting brush though. He took a little bit of time, but when he finished, Glynda was surprised to find that the boy had used highly elaborated pictograms, in fact, she was quite sure that the quantity of pictograms didn't match the number of letters she used to write his name.

"Our words" Nobunaga said, and then placed his hand on his chest, and repeated his name, which meant that in fact, the pictograms were the words for his name, and throwing out of the window the idea that each pictogram was the equivalent of a letter.

"Thank you." Glynda said absentmindedly, and then opened her scroll to search for a match for the language. Ranmaru and Mitsuhide watched in awe how the woman took out a square of metal, and then divided it in half, just for the two halves to be linked by light, and how in it symbols began to flow in rapid succession, Nobunaga though, was utterly fascinated, and got as close as possible to watch whatever sorcery or divination the woman was performing. The search ended quite fast, and a match was found, and it certainly was surprising.

"EDO?! You are from the lost kingdom of Edo?" Glynda shouted in unmasked glee, much to the confusion of the youngsters.

Beacon academy, headmaster's office, more than two hours later…

Nobunaga's head was spinning, forming a headache of humongous proportions, as soon as the woman that rescued them recognized their language she began to rant like crazy, speaking to the artifact that helped her identify what appeared to be their kingdom. When they reached the majestic tower they were in now, her rant intensified instead of diminishing, and it only grew worse when they reached the large room where they were now; of course Kanetsugu's awakening only worsened the situation, for he was understandably scared of the place they were in, it became extremely hard to calm him down, especially when more magical things began to happen around them, like disembodied voices coming from little boxes, floating images coming from the walls, it was admittedly unnerving, but even Mitsuhide conceded that since no one seemed to react badly to this occurrences, and rather interacted with them, it was simply the norm of this land, and he should at least not voice his disapprobation openly, Ranmaru simply followed his master with the calmness of a living statue, he was however, not as calm as the man that was now addressing Glynda.

"Are you certain of this, Glynda?" Ozpin asked, again, he just couldn't wrap his mind about such incredible discovery, for finding descendants form the kingdom of Edo was something believed to be impossible.

"It fits! I have at least heard all the languages used in this age, so I could at least know what languages are being spoken by outsiders, and I've never heard theirs! Then their written language matches the very little ancient references we have! Ozpin, this would mean that Edo survived in more than the extremely few words and concepts we carry today, no longer will Edo be only tied to the words samurai, ninja and ramen; we can add their culture to ours!" Glynda was excited, and with no little reason, the more culture a kingdom managed to recover or develop, the greater was its standing among the others, besides, with enough maneuvering, her name will be immortalized in history books for this discovering, the monetary reward for such a finding was not lost to her mind either.

"And their strength, the aura manipulation capabilities that they did show are certainly different from what we use; while not truly stronger, diversity will be beneficial for future generations. We should invite them to attend our school." Ozpin stated, fully aware that the black armored boy was trying his best to follow their conversation, with limited success though.

"Of course. And I volunteer to help them adapt to our kingdom and customs, as well as understanding everything about their culture, for the good of the kingdom, and the future generations." Glynda quickly offered, a little too fast, if Ozpin's smile was any indication.

"The semester will begin in two weeks, are you sure you can handle this kind of responsibility alone? I'm certain Dr. Oobleck…" Ozpin couldn't finish his sentence; of course he knew he didn't need to do so.

"That won't be necessary! I'm perfectly capable of helping these four to adapt to our kingdom, having them speaking and reading the common language, and of course completing the cipher to translate everything we have from Edo, all of this in time for them to attend the beginning of the semester." Glynda speech was done with a voice that left no room to arguments; Ozpin had to resist the urge to laugh, of course she wouldn't accept Oobleck's aid, she wouldn't share her findings with anybody, and of course, she wouldn't fail in her now self imposed quest.

In the background, Nobunaga's headache just kept growing; his companions kept asking him to translate what the blonde and the aged man were saying, but he couldn't, they exchanged words too fast for him to follow, but he was certain that the center of the discussion was him and the other warriors, he just hoped this people could give them leads to the knights they were supposed to help. Soon Glynda approached them, and of course Nobunaga took the front, not like the others could understand.

"I arranged things for you to stay with me. I'll help you all to understand our language and our kingdom." Glynda said slowly, and Ozpin almost snorted at how motherly she looked right now, of course self-preservation helped greatly in resisting said impulse.

"You help finding what we seek?" Nobunaga asked dead serious, he needed to make the point that they were looking for something in particular.

"Yes, I will help you." Glynda replied with all the honesty she could muster, and of course she will, it would be the least she could do after everything she was going to get from them, and of course Ozpin will lead them to believe that becoming hunters would help them even more.

"We accept." Nobunaga said after first translating to his companions, after all, with all the promises of help, what could possibly go wrong?

* * *

 **Magnus:** Don't despair, next chapter the samurai warriors will meet the cast of RWBY, and then the fun will really start. Anyone can guess the code name for the team?


	3. A New Beginning

**Magnus:** And now, the Samurai Warriors begin to meet the cast of RWBY, chapters filled with action will come soon, so for now enjoy, and remember, read and review!

 **Disclaimer:** I believe it was enough with chapter 1, right?

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 **A New Beginning.**

Glynda knew that her job with the youngsters would not be easy, she wasn't naïve enough to expect miraculous advances in language or to be allowed to record every little cultural detail the may show, so she expected problems to arise, especially cultural shock; and the first shock was to finally be able to fly all the way down to the city to her apartment, because now that there was no adrenalin in their bloodstream, the four foreigners were able to take every little detail of the bullhead, which of course startled them, especially Kanetsugu, who couldn't exit fast enough for his liking, in fact, he almost didn't make it to the metal cylinder that was nearby to empty his stomach.

"Oh my! If I had known he suffered from motion sickness, I would have given him pills for that!" Glynda said with worry, not even at arm's reach of her home, and there was trouble already, if the muttering that sounded so suspiciously like curses was any indication.

"Motion sickness?" Nobunaga asked with unmasked interest, while helping Ranmaru to get out, for he was a little too afraid to lose his footing, the ride had let him with a sense of uneasiness.

"Some people don't take well to flying, so they feel nausea. I take it you don't fly that much where you come from?" Glynda tried to explain while also trying to obtain a little bit of information, she guessed they lacked technological expertise, but needed to confirm just how much.

"Birds fly, we do not." Nobunaga replied while now extending his hand to Mitsuhide, who slapped it away, just to lose his footing upon exiting, but he managed to use his hands to prevent a face first fall. Glynda now understood that the youngsters will have a hard time adjusting to technology, she just hoped that such hindrance won't take away too much time from the cultural exchange.

It took about twenty minutes to reach Glynda's home, but it was more than enough for the warriors to feel overwhelmed, they traversed only two blocks of the city, and they felt that Kyoto looked like a village of farmers in comparison, the palace of Oshu a medium sized house compared to the building they were in, the elevator was something new, but they were grateful for it slow movement, especially Kanetsugu.

"This building, your home?" Nobunaga finally asked, a little bit apprehensive too, because for a moment he thought that this person was of a really high status, if she lived in such place.

"Yes, but not all of it. Many people live here, so; there are many homes in this building." Glynda explained to the best of her capabilities, trying hard to not confuse the youngsters. A couple of minutes later the group found themselves inside Glynda's home, and Glynda felt her self esteem rising quite a lot, for the youngsters looked really impressed by the apartment.

The rest of the day passed at a sedated pace, she knew the youngsters still had to recover from their terrible night, so she allowed them take showers and rest in the couches, which gave her the amusement of watching how they didn't know about the functions of both items, unfortunately, since they had no spare clothes with them, she had to loan them her collection of bathroom robes, which all of them graciously accepted, and oddly enough, dressed on them with practiced easiness; when the time to eat came she ordered pizza, which admittedly wasn't a really good idea, if the faces of the youngsters were any indication, according to Nobunaga, the idea was almost outrageous, although in the end they ate it, or in case of Kanetsugu, wolfed it down. It was when night came that the first real obstacle presented itself, she only had one room for guests, and she had four of them, this led to the awkward questions.

"I've been meaning to ask, Nobunaga, are you and Ranmaru a couple?" Glynda asked, taking comfort in knowing that only Nobunaga would understand.

"We two people, yes." Nobunaga replied a little bit confused, Glynda barely resisted the urge to face palm, she should have known that the language barrier would make this difficult.

"I mean, are you two married?" Glynda asked with a slightly colored face, she didn't know if in their tribe they could marry so young or if the names of the family were changed or not; Nobunaga for his part seemed confused at first, then his eyes got wide open, and ended in a face palm before he could give his answer.

"Ranmaru is man, no woman." Nobunaga replied as clearly as possible, hoping to prevent any further confusion.

"Ah, I see… WAIT WHAT?!" Glynda just couldn't take it anymore, and after freaking just a little, decided that she would deal with her new charges after a well deserved sleep, she idly noted that they would love to have the same chance.

The next morning…

Glynda Goodwitch was a very capable huntress, a magnificent teacher, the best combat instructor that the kingdom has ever seen, and a beautiful woman in general, but she was also aware of her fatal flaw, she lacked cooking skills, reason enough to wake up with a start when a certain smell assaulted her nose, it was the smell of a homemade meal, something recently cooked, and it smelled delicious, which was completely alien for her home.

"What in the world?" Glynda muttered as she quickly got dressed and went to the kitchen, where she got the greatest surprise of her life; at the stove, Ranmaru was cooking, apparently the boy was smart enough to understand the pictures on the controls of the stove and learn how to turn it on, the pots in the fire, and the lack of chaos around the kitchen meant that the young man was able to search for everything he needed while not getting everything into a mess, all of this actually made her feel… inadequate. And then, Ranmaru noticed her, gawking at his handiwork.

"Gud morny, Sensei." Ranmaru addressed her in a mispronounced morning greeting, with a heavily accented voice, which was quite a pleasant surprise, considering that just yesterday he couldn't say a word in common.

"Good morning, Ranmaru. I see you have breakfast already, you certainly have the proper skills for a housewife." Glynda jokingly said, then cringed at the unintended insult she just delivered, because the guy seriously looked like a girl.

"I no Understant, gomen." Ranmaru said while tilting his head, much to Glynda's relief, she should have guessed that he was still getting a taste of the language, so, with a wave of her hand she signaled her exit, and went to see where the others where, and found that they really were morning persons, although maybe seeing Nobunaga sitting in the couch with the newspaper was a little too much.

"Do you understand it?" Glynda asked after a moment of self contemplation, she didn't know if to feel at ease at how mature the youngsters behaved, or freaked out; Nobunaga simply turned to nod at her, acknowledging her presence.

"Most of it, yes. It is good practice." Nobunaga replied in a now much more fluid common, this confirmed his great ability to learn; this of course earned him a glare from Mitsuhide, who seemed focused on meditation, and this also remembered Glynda that she has yet to ask the reason of the hostility, which meant no sense due to the four of them being together.

"That's good to hear. Where is Kanetsugu?" Glynda asked after noticing the absence of the guy with the funny hat.

"Outside, making more… eh… weapons." Nobunaga replied, apparently struggling to find the proper words; Glynda seemed confused for a moment, until her mind clicked in the most logical scenario, since it was impossible that the boy was forging another sword that meant he was making more of the talismans he used in the video, which actually picked her interest greatly.

"Do you think he'll allow me to watch while he makes them?" Glynda asked full of curiosity, the talismans he used seemed to be pre-charged with special dust effects, such usage was not uncommon, as effect bullets were on wide spread use, but the fact that a simple piece of paper could be carried and used as an explosive at any time with just a little bit of aura poured into it seemed like a marvelous addition to the hunter's arsenal.

"Not a good idea. It's a religion thing." Nobunaga replied with what sounded like an apologetic voice, and while it was disappointing, Glynda didn't press on the matter, for she understood that religious matters were not something to take lightly; she didn't forget about it though, for she also decided to get the trust of the priest, so he would allow her to learn all he knew.

"Bakefest ready." Ranmaru called while entering with trays with the food, and Glynda had to fight the feeling of envy at seeing how neatly he arranged everything for everyone, a fight that she lost when she took a taste of the miso soup and the white rice, in fact, even Mitsuhide couldn't keep his usually angry face while eating…

And so, Glynda spent two weeks teaching the youngsters everything they needed to know, starting with the language, then the use of basic technology, the uses of a scroll and of course the job of the huntsmen and huntresses. Glynda had to admit that the mechanics of this tribal group were curious, because she found that the best way to go around teaching was to first work with Nobunaga, who would then work with both Ranmaru and Kanetsugu, and the later would then work with Mitsuhide, it was not the way she used to teach, but it was truly functional, proof of that was that by the end of the first week, she could successfully communicate with all of them without problem, although they all had an obviously thick accent.

During the second week Glynda managed to get juicy results from the communication, Nobunaga proved to be very helpful in creating the cipher to translate most of what was available from Edo, of course she wasn't naïve enough to believe that the cipher was perfect for she knew that after hundreds, if not thousands of years, the language would have suffered changes, minor ones if she was lucky. Another thing she got, which made her feel a little uneasy, was how Kanetsugu manufactured more of his paper charms, she almost jumped of joy when the young priest approached her and asked for materials to keep making more of them, and of course she managed to coax him into letting her watch the process, this of course led to her getting the required materials, which were obviously paper of good quality, and magical ink; the first one was easy, as the paper used for office work sufficed for the task, the second was a hard one, for she didn't know what passed for 'magic' ink, so instead she asked if he knew how to make it, the materials he asked were a powder that channeled the spirit, which she assumed was dust, and rice wine, which almost freaked her out; she ended giving him all the materials though, and she ended repeating herself that it was for the good of the kingdom. When she watched and recorded the whole process, she knew she had just hit the jackpot, and the young priest, by proxy, too; Glynda Goodwitch had just found one of the most impressive semblances ever, of all time.

It was at the end of this week that the warriors finally approached her, seeking the help she promised, and she almost felt guilty at playing with their wording, emphasis in almost…

"Glynda-sensei, we are thankful for all your help, but we most pursue our own mission." Nobunaga addressed the combat instructor, who gave a nod and a smile.

"I understand, and while our time together was brief, I'm happy to have helped you. Now I will aid you in whatever mission you have." Glynda replied, truth to be told, if it was something simple, she will help them before trying to convince them to join Beacon.

"Thank you. We were tasked with finding a group of White Knights, and save them from the abyss; we hope you can aid us in finding them as soon as possible, as we cannot go home without completing this task." Nobunaga explained, and Glynda almost smiled at how easy this could be, except for the part about going home, but she just had to try.

"Well, first you should clarify to me who are these White Knights, what do you know about them, who gave you this mission and why?" Glynda asked as calmly as possible, she had a weird feeling about all of this, and she needed to keep her composure before delivering the suggestion of waiting four years before returning home.

"A god spoke to us about these warriors, how they had to fight the darkness of the land, and that they needed us to find what they missed to keep fighting. It it's of utmost importance to me to find them, to lend them my strength, for the tide of the darkness is vast, and I feel that the light of the heavens will help them greatly." Kanetsugu was the one to answer her questions, and while Nobunaga and Ranmaru remained quiet, Mitsuhide just shook his head in mild annoyance. Glynda for her part made her own scenario of the situation, it was easy for her to imagine the shaman of their tribe to have a vision and interpret it as a quest that would serve as a rite of passage for the youngsters, now she had to give the suggestion, and hope they believed it without much trouble.

"Well, in that case, you should know that the term 'White Knight' refers to a selfless warrior that fights to protect the people from all that is evil, namely criminals, disasters, and of course the creatures of Grimm." Glynda began to explain, hoping to set the ground for her proposal, and of course, her new favorite student was quick to see where this was going.

"You mean the huntsmen and huntresses." Nobunaga said, earning thoughtful stares from the others.

"Yes. All around the kingdoms, there are combat schools that train young warriors, such as you, in hopes of turning them into huntsmen and huntresses. Beacon Academy welcomes only the most promising and most talented of these hopefuls, sadly, only a handful will graduate into full fledged hunters that will fight against the Grimm to the very end, that is one of the reasons the kingdom hasn't been able to properly expand, it is also the reason few of the settlements outside the borders ever succeed." Glynda carefully explained, expecting to hear rebuttals, doubts, and questions.

"Kanetsugu, what does the heavens say?" Nobunaga asked to the priest, and Glynda had to admit that she should have expected that, they seemed to be religious folk, so it stood to reason that is they were here in a holy quest, the priest would be the one to take the decisions for the group. Kantesugu simply closed his eyes, and began to concentrate, seemingly being in a state of meditation, his breath was rhythmic and calm, but to Glynda, who was focusing her aura on her eyes to study what he was doing, it was amazing; energy, strong enough to be used as a potent attack, was swirling around him, but it was calm, like a serene breeze, the most amazing part, was that it wasn't Kanetsugu's aura, but an external energy that apparently was dormant in the ambient, then it stopped, and he opened his eyes.

"That is the people I need to help, that is the place I will go." Kanetsugu firmly stated; much to the surprise of the blond teacher.

"It is decided then. Glynda-sensei, would it be possible for us to attend this academy?" Nobunaga asked, seemingly deciding for everyone, even if Mitsuhide's exasperated sigh seemed to mean a reluctant agreement.

"Of course it is possible. That being said, you'll need a source of income to pay for your scholarship; since you are from outside the kingdom, and in no position to contact your families for resources, I can place you on the same program as the orphans, in which the kingdom will pay for your scholarship under the promise of using the skills you will acquire to protect the people of the kingdom; as an additional source of income, I would like you to help me write a book about your culture, religion and wisdom, for this will give you the extra lien to have a more 'comfortable' stay." Glynda explained as clearly as possible, she would have suggested selling Kanetsugu's charms, but didn't dare to push her luck.

"Why would you pay us for sharing something so simple?" Mitsuhide asked, sounding more curious than apprehensive.

"Because our kingdom highly values culture over other things. You may not know it, but your tribe may be the last remnant of the lost kingdom of Edo, anything you can share about your ways, about the wisdom that was passed to you, will help us to let Edo live once more, and believe me, we really mean to honor the history of your heritage." Glynda explained in an almost pleading tone, and this greatly affected them; long ago they decided to live under the impression of being from the so called nomad tribes, as that would be far more believable than being from another world, or heavens help them, from far from the past, and yet, here was this kind woman asking them to share what made them who they were, the teachings that helped them grow, it was a tough choice.

"We will give you our answer about the book once we enter the academy, is that all right with you?" Nobunaga asked after a few minutes, and Glynda nodded, knowing that this was better than nothing.

"That is enough, thank you for even considering it. Tomorrow morning you will board the ship that will take you, along with other hopefuls, to Beacon. I have no doubt that you will find the people you are looking for." Glynda said with a sincere smile on her face.

"I truly hope so." Mitsuhide muttered where he was standing, earning a condescending smile from the teacher, instead of a reprimand.

"Glynda-sensei, as a token of gratitude for all you have taught us, for all the kindness you showed to us, and your comprehension, I would like you to accept this." Kanetsugu said while placing a large paper charm on Glynda's hand, this one was black, with golden inscriptions, and as she touched it, she felt the warm energy stored inside.

"I… thank you, Kanetsugu." Glynda said with a gasp, now in her hand was one of the items she desired so much, just this time she couldn't think on sending it to a lab to be analyzed.

"It is a blessing from the heavens; it will protect you when everything else may fail." Kanetsugu explained with a smile on his face, and then he and the others went to pack what little belongings they had, including the scrolls that Glynda gave them, which they still had trouble using.

The next day…

"Well, here we go, to our next adventure, my lord." Ranmaru said while taking in the sight he got from the window on the large airship, it was amazing, and he could see his lord taking advantage of all this knowledge, all this technology, to fulfill his vision.

"Indeed. And with you by my side, we will overcome any and all obstacles." Nobunaga replied, while looking through the same window, but it was hard to tell if he was seeing the same.

"If you believe I'll let you take all of this back home, you are dead wrong." Mitsuhide said to the duo, although from a safe distance, he wasn't ready to be decapitated by an irate Ranmaru, not before completing his task.

"Such a short sighted man, you are not ready to be your own lord, Mitsuhide." Nobunaga replied with a dark chuckle, as if taunting him into attacking, of course he didn't fall for it, but that didn't mean he wasn't looking forward to an opportunity to get rid of the Demon King.

"Are you all right, Kanetsugu?" Ranmaru suddenly asked to the priest, who was sitting on a lotus position, seemingly in deep meditation.

"The medicine isn't working as I was led to believe, so I would appreciate if you didn't move so much." Kanetsugu replied, showing his level of self-control; of course the others decided to give him enough space, especially if he failed to resist the trip; it was then that a holographic display appeared, showing the latest news, which spoke about a faunus rally, and how it was disrupted by a terrorist organization.

"I really need to get acquainted with the faunus, they seem in dire need of guidance." Nobunaga said with seriousness, which was dampened by his smile.

"Don't you dare start…" Mitsuhide's rant was interrupted by the apparition of Glynda's hologram, which began to greet all the hopefuls, as well as stating that they should feel honored to be allowed to attend the prestigious academy. The warriors couldn't help but to admire how professional she looked and acted, and decided that her class must be the most worthy.

Their moment was ruined by a running boy that apparently had the same problem that Kanetsugu has, unlike Kanetsugu though, the blond boy seemingly forgot to take his medicine, much to the distress of a pair of sisters who began to freak about some vomit finding its way to the shoes of one of them.

"I take back what I said before, the medicine truly works." Kanetsugu finally said, earning laughs from the others, which for the first time were relaxed and sincere.

Upon landing, Nobunaga and Ranmaru went directly to the hall they were supposed to go, while Mitsuhide and Kanetsugu decided to wander around the school grounds for a little bit, the first because he wanted to be away from Nobunaga to clear his thoughts, and the second to take in some fresh air, and to follow the poor guy that suffered from his same problem.

"If you take long breaths while stretching your arms, you can reduce the nausea effect, if only for a bit." Kanetsugu said to the blond boy while patting his back in a condescending gesture, which the boy seemed to appreciate.

"Thanks, I thought that the cruisers would not give me motion sickness like the bullheads, but I was wrong" The boy said after regaining his footing, he admittedly thought that the extravagant hat of the white robed boy seemed a little bit ridiculous, but he wasn't about to alienate the first nice person he encountered in his new school. Whatever conversation they were going to hold was put into waiting, because a rather loud explosion put them on alert.

"What was that?" The blond boy asked.

"I don't know, but I'll go and see if someone needs any help." Kanetsugu replied, and then marched toward the direction from where the sound came, being followed by the blond.

On another part of the school grounds.

"Are you all right?" Mitsuhide asked to the two ladies in front of them, he was nearby when the explosion happened, and while he was certain there was no harm to their persons, he felt the need to ask, just in case; the girl with the red cape seemed to be really afraid, probably for all the ranting the girl with white hair was doing, said girl with white hair seemed to forget about everything the moment she laid eyes on Mitsuhide.

"I… well… yes. Thank you for asking." The girl in white replied, seemingly enchanted by the looks of the boy in front of her.

"Glad to her that, my lady. How about you, child?" Mitsuhide asked to the girl in red, helping her to stand up.

"I'm fine, thanks." The girl in red said a little shyly, this of course, seemed to infuriate the white haired girl.

"You really should be more mindful of your surroundings; you could have caused some serious damage!" The white girl said in a very irate voice, if Mitsuhide had to describe her, he would say pampered heiress, thing accentuated by how wealthy she looked.

"If this was an accident, you should properly apologize; and you should be able to forgive and forget, especially if there was no damage to your person, my lady." Mitsuhide said, first to the girl in red, and then to the girl in white.

"But I already said I was sorry!" The girl in red whined, she was getting upset herself, it was an accident, it was unfair to keep scolding her.

"Now, I believe that we haven't been properly introduced…" The girl in white began to say while getting a little too close to Mitsuhide and completely ignoring the girl in red, but got interrupted by a new girl.

"That would be Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." A girl in a black and white suit stated while approaching the group, she was holding a bottle filled with dust.

"Finally! Some deserved recognition!" Weiss said as pride began to fill her.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." The girl continued with a little bit of hostility in her voice.

"WHAT?! How dare you?!" Weiss almost exploded in rage, but settled for taking the bottle of dust from the hands of the new girl, and then stormed off.

"I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day at Beacon… So…" The girl in red began to say, first to herself, then tried to talk to the others, but they were walking away already, each one their separate ways.

"Welcome to Beacon." The girl in red said after she had slide her way to the floor.

"Hey! Are you all right?" A voice called for her attention, and the girl saw two boys extending their hands to help her.

"I'm Jaune." The blond with the half plate armor introduced himself.

"My name is Kanetsugu Naoe." The boy with the white robes and the funny tall hat presented himself too, at this, the girl couldn't help but to smile at how new people approached her, this time, in a more amicable fashion.

"I'm Ruby." Ruby introduced herself while taking both hands, and found herself quickly lifted from the ground and on her feet; she really appreciated the strength they showed.

"Aren't you the guy that threw up in the ship?" Ruby immediately asked after taking a better look at Jaune, said boy couldn't help but to groan in annoyance, he already guessed what would be his nickname.

* * *

 **Magnus:** I believe everyone who played Samurai Warriors for the first time believed that Ranmaru is a girl, so, I'll be using that joke for a while.


	4. Initiation

**Magnus:** Time for a little bit of action, I hope you enjoy it.

 **Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 for it.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 **Initiation**

The great hall was filled with students, some already in groups of friends, others trying to stay alone, and while most left other people to themselves, one Ranmaru Mori was having his patience tested.

"Hey, have you seen that beauty over there?" The not so subtly comments reached his ears, and while he could say that there were several beautiful girls in the hall, he knew that there was no hope of evading such misunderstanding.

"Oh man! Do you think she is single?" That comment had his eyebrow twitching, it had been bad enough when back in the Oda army some drunken soldier tried moves on him, of course back then he was allowed to 'clarify' his manliness in an appropriate way.

"I don't care if she is, that hottie is going to be mine!" That last comment had Ranmaru slowly reaching for his nodachi, ready to 'clarify' this misunderstanding, until Nobunaga's hand touched his shoulder, in a placating gesture.

"Calm down, Ranmaru. It's not worth neither the effort, nor the punishment. Besides, there will be more appropriate times for retaliation; a combat academy has to have sparring matches after all." Nobunaga's word helped Ranmaru greatly, but his anger was far from gone.

"Sparring matches always have a referee; I doubt I'll be allowed to properly demonstrate my point." Ranmaru replied, obviously not truly conformed with the idea, this of course earned a chuckle and a playful pat on the shoulder courtesy of one amused Nobunaga.

"Keeping the dog in a short leash?" Mitsuhide asked while joining them, he didn't want to stay close to them, not after everything that had happened, but the thought of leaving them alone, and potentially allowing them to begin recruiting for a new Oda army was far too terrible to let it be.

"Dogs are renowned for their loyalty, courage and intellect, so I take no offence. But I wonder what you are then, for you lack all of these qualities." Ranmaru shot back in a rather cool voice, much to the annoyance of the samurai.

"Unlike you..." Mitsuhide began to build up his rant, but got immediately interrupted.

"It's good to see that at least one of us is making some advance in our mission." Nobunaga said a little loud, successfully preventing a fight between Mitsuhide and Ranmaru. Both followed Nobunaga's gaze, until they saw Kanetsugu, waving good bye to an adorable petite girl wearing a red cape, and receiving a pat in the back by a blond young warrior, after such an action, he made a straight line to them.

"It seems that I'm on time for our welcoming… is something wrong?" Kanetsugu said as he reached them, noticing the looks of disbelief on the faces of his companions.

"Well, to be honest, I was expecting you to have much more trouble socializing with the students." Nobunaga answered with honesty, after all he was still reticent to 'meet new friends'; he had yet to make a proper plan to introduce himself to others and gain their trust.

"Is it that hard to believe that I can open up to others, or that others can open up to me?" Kanetsugu asked a little hurt by the implications against his social skills.

"Yes." Both Mitsuhide and Ranmaru replied at the same time, and Kanetsugu could only shook his head, apparently his companions couldn't see that these warriors were like brothers and sisters to him, for all of them had the same divine drive that he has, to destroy the evil and the darkness.

"Quiet now. The opening speech is about to start." Nobunaga quickly put a stop to the upcoming argument, for he would not disrespect the authority of the academy.

It was then that the headmaster appeared and began to talk to the hopefuls, speaking of their drive to protect others, but also pointing how he could see that they only wasted energy, without a true purpose or direction, he ended his speech by clarifying that the knowledge they seek was only a minimal part of what they needed, and that it was up to them to start their true path. Glynda took over at the end, and demanded of the students to be ready for the initiation that would take place the next day.

"I don't like him." Mitsuhide suddenly said, still looking at the spot where the headmaster was standing a moment ago.

"He is our authority, and has not given us a reason to truly distrust him." Ranmaru quickly stated, not wanting give more ground to the traitor.

"But he is like Nobunaga." Mitsuhide added, earning confused stares from both Ranmaru and Kanetsugu.

"How?" Kanetsugu couldn't resist asking.

"His eyes are set into the future, so far into it that he is losing sight of the present; if possible, we should warn him about the risks of such path." Nobunaga was the one to explain, much to the surprise of the others, and Ranmaru's pride.

It took the warriors little time to find a corner to sleep, however this caused a little bit of confusion, because the hall was divided to have males in one side, and females in the other, for obvious reasons… and for obvious reasons this caused a reaction from many of the hopefuls.

"Now that's a bold girl!" A not so subtle female voice called as Ranmaru was obviously close to Nobunaga.

"Awwww man! She is already taken!" A despairing male voice gave a minimal sense of comfort; at least the other boys would let him alone.

"No matter, I just have to show her I'm a better man than that pineapple head!" The last comment almost had Ranmaru going on a rampage, if only he hadn't been forced to leave his nodachi on the locker…

"I can't take it anymore!" Mitsuhide suddenly said, and went to Kanetsugu, who was meditating, clearing his mind for whatever challenge that awaited him and the others, of course he quickly noticed Mitsuhide, as his spirit was quite in a turmoil.

"What is it, Mitsuhide?" Kanetsugu calmly asked, trying to spread his peace to the troubled samurai, with very little success.

"I need to know if we are in the correct place, I don't want to waste four years with the wrong people, so I ask you to read for me the will of the heavens." Mitsuhide asked in a very demanding tone, knowing that the priest would not lie to him, nor give him false readings… accurate readings were a very different thing.

"If that will bring you the required peace for tomorrow's trial, then I'll do it. You can ask a handful of questions, you know you need to be specific." Kanetsugu replied while taking a deck of cards, slowly shuffling them while whispering some incantations; Mitsuhide patiently waited until the priest finished, then began his questions.

"The people we are looking for are within this hall?" Mitsuhide asked, earning the attention of a few of the hopefuls. Kanetsugu split the deck, and then took one card from each group, and divined the answer.

"Yes." Kanetsugu's answer seemed to lift a great weight from Mitsuhide's shoulders, but it also got the attention of even more youngsters, especially girls.

"At least one of us will be able to recognize these people?" Mitsuhide asked, more calm now, knowing that even if the answer was no, he still had time to complete the task to return home. By now whispers were shared among the students, some were mocking comments coming from those born within the big cities, while those that came from the villages were truly interested.

"Yes." With Kanetsugu's answer, Mitsuhide decided that he would play along, at least until he gets his wish.

"Thank you, Kanetsugu. Now I'll leave you to rest, I wouldn't want you to be tired for tomorrow's initiation." Mitsuhide said and then retired to his corner to sleep; unfortunately Kanetsugu still had to deal with more curious people.

"A FORTUNE TELLER!" A squeal of happiness startled the battle monk, not because it was way too happy, but because it wasn't the first time he had to deal with such antics.

"I want a reading!" Kanetsugu now knew that he was going to be quite famous, if only in a way he actually didn't want to…

Next morning…

For the warriors, morning came in a very nostalgic way, it was like being recruited for an army at a young age, seeing lazy youngsters trying to sleep for a little bit more, large groups being hoarded to the food court for a quick meal, and of course, the unusual pair here and there, though they wished luck for the poor guy who seemed to be the center of the universe for an hyperactive orange haired girl. The time after breakfast seemed more interesting though.

"What do you think this initiation is about?" Mitsuhide asked with real interest, his katana seemed properly sharpened and polished, but he was still inspecting it, just in case.

"Didn't you hear the other readings that Kanetsugu did?" Ranmaru asked in a mocking tone, knowing that he actually didn't.

"What other readings?" Mitsuhide asked to Kanetsugu, who was counting the paper charms he was carrying.

"Other hopefuls asked several things, since I had only three more readings, they settled for questions about the initiation. The answers were four members per team, fetch task and combat grading." Kanetsugu replied, now placing his helmet on his head, receiving much less giggles and comments, apparently the other hopefuls got the idea of the hat being part of a religious order.

"That sounds incredibly useful. Any idea on how the teams will be formed?" Nobunaga asked as he finished gearing up.

"Whatever method they intend to use, I'll stand by your side without falter." Ranmaru quickly declared, his nodachi properly secured at his back, and of course, Mitsuhide just rolled his eyes at that comment. It was at that moment that Glyndas voice sounded over the speaker, asking for all students to report to the cliff for the initiation process.

"Well, time to meet our new challenge." Nobunaga said while taking the lead, Mitsuhide made sure to follow last, not wanting to accept Nobunaga's command.

Reaching the cliff, the first thing they noticing was Glynda, who acknowledged them with a curt nod, which they returned in kind, then they, along with the rest of the students were motioned to stand into square shaped platforms, once all of them were standing on one, Ozpin began a new speech.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerals Forest." As Ozpin talked the warriors began to wonder why they were standing at a cliff, instead in a clearing or in the entrance of the mentioned forest, Nobunaga had a suspicion that the platforms weren't just for show, and Mitsuhide began to think that the headmaster and Nobunaga were far too similar for his liking.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates, today." Glynda explained, causing surprise among the students.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone you know you can work well." Ozpin added, making perfect sense, although some students began to feel the pressure of selecting these teammates.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with upon landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin added, earning a stronger set of reactions from the students.

"WHAT?" A certain red caped girl shouted in absolute despair.

"LANDING?" The four warriors were surprised as well, and the four of them turned to look at the platforms they were standing on, there were no more suspicions, this was going to hurt.

"After you partner up, make your way to the north of the forest, you will find opposition along the way, do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die." As Ozpin continued, some students began to show their nervousness, especially one Jaune Arc.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one, and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and will be properly graded. Are there any questions?" Ozpin asked at the end, and by now, Kanetsugu noticed how some students began to look at him with wonder, apparently he will be asked to do more reading in the near future; Mitsuhide couldn't help but to hate the headmaster for his likeness to Nobunaga.

"Um… yes, sir?" Jaune raised his hand to make a question.

"Good! Now, take you positions." At this order, everyone got ready to be catapulted, except for the blond guy.

"Sir, I got a question." Jaune tried to continue, but the warriors were catapulted first.

Nobunaga found the feeling of the free falling to his liking, it was almost like flying, exhilarating, but he was no reckless teenager, so he kept in mind his objectives, that's why he managed to take a look at the forest from the air, and managed to make the patterns of the slightly unnatural paths among the trees, and while he couldn't see the temple or any other important landmark, he could clearly define the direction to said place; he also didn't need to look back to know that he was being followed by Ranmaru. Soon Nobunaga began to crash with the branches of the tree tops, helping him to decelerate, knowing it wouldn't be enough, he charged his spirit to form a large dark pulse on his left hand, and shoot it to the ground where was going to impact, the dark energy cushioned the fall very nicely, tough he still ended up rolling a few feet.

"Well, that was fun." Nobunaga said to himself as he stood up and began to shake the leaves and dirt from his outfit. A loud roar sounded from behind him, quickly followed by a large bear like creature of darkness, an Ursa, if he recalled correctly what Glynda taught him a little time ago. Nobunaga didn't even tried to bring up his sword, not even tensed at the presence of the evil creature; such behavior was justified, because he saw the monster being cleaved in two perfect halves, with Ranmaru standing behind, now sheathing his nodachi, his face as calm and serene as an undisturbed lake.

"My lord?" Ranmaru asked, meaning orders, for there had never been a doubt about him finding his master.

"I believe I found the way to the temple, now let's go, we have to find us some white knights." Nobunaga replied, taking lead and moving north, Ranmaru happily following, having no need to question the wisdom of his master.

Kanetsugu was not worried at all, the free fall could be troublesome to overcome, but he knew that the heavens will provide with something to break the fall, his faith was rewarded when the caw of a large bird was heard, he quickly tracked the sound and found it belonged to a human sized bird of darkness, Glynda had called them nevermore, but right now he called it target; the nevermore tried to intercept him, but was rewarded with a sword impaling it's back, and a large and unwieldy weight was added to its wings, the creature flapped frenetically, desperate to survive the fall or get rid of the human, the trip to the ground was painful and excruciating, and when they finally landed with a loud tud, Kanetsugu removed the sword from the body of the nevermore, only to decapitate the poor creature in reward for slowing his fall.

"Well, now to find this temple." Kanetsugu said to himself, he was about to divine the path, when a loud yell called for his attention.

"WATCH OUT!" The unmistakable voice of Mitsuhide sounded a top the sound of breaking branches, he was slowed down to a survivable speed by the tree tops, but it wasn't enough to make the landing painless, for good or ill, he actually landed on Kanetsugu, preventing serious harm to himself, but actually hurting the monk.

"I thank you for saving me, Kanetsugu." Mitsuhide said upon noticing on who he landed.

"Believe me when I say it wasn't intentional, had I know, I would had used my charm as a barrier." Kanetsugu replied, and Mitsuhide didn't know if to feel insulted or not, he decided to change the subject.

"So, we are partners now. Any ideas were to go to?" Mitsuhide asked, and Kanetsugu returned to a more calm state, there was no point in arguing, and he was sure that the heavens wanted them together, otherwise they wouldn't have landed in the same spot… although he would have preferred to have been paired with the little girl he met the day before, that was a pure heart he would have love to help.

"If you stay quiet, I'll divine the path. Now let me consult the heavens." Kanetsugu replied, while taking his charms for a quick reading.

"Ok… I'll stand over there." Mitsuhide stated while walking toward a tree, he was still resented for being catapulted, so a moment of self contemplation seemed like a good idea, such idea was quickly discarded when an enormous sneak began to creep from behind the tree.

"Kanetsugu…" Mitsuhide cautiously called while slowly retreating, never taking his eyes from the massive serpent, hand on the hilt of his katana to defend himself at a moment notice.

"Not now, I'm concentrating." Kanetsugu calmly replied, Mitsuhide was about to say something about the serpent, when a larger, reptilian like head appeared from above, and bite off the head of the serpent, of all the things the creatures of darkness could imitate, he had to find the worst.

"KANETSUGU!" Mitsuhide screamed and run toward Kanetsugu, knowing that the only hope of defeating such a large monstrosity was to use the magic wielded by the monk.

"Can't you understand that… oh!" Kanetsugu's rant was cut short at the visage of the incredibly large monster, this was a real challenge, but he knew that with the help of the samurai, he could destroy this champion of darkness, and ensure the safety of the other hopefuls… that's it, until Mitsuhide actually run past him, leaving him with really few survivable options…

Meanwhile…

Finding the temple had been easy, so easy that it was a wonder that no relic had been taken yet, speaking of said relics…

"Chess pieces?" Nobunaga asked to no one, inspecting the pieces with great interest.

"Chest pieces?" Ranmaru asked, confused by the term.

"Not chest, chess. It's a table top game. The pieces represent a role in an army, and each is assigned a type of movement and a strategic value." Nobunaga explained, and then took a thinking pose, seemingly thinking in the meaning of this turn of events.

"Ah, I see. So, by choosing a piece, are we declaring our strategic value?" Ranmaru asked now, trying to understand the full meaning of this initiation.

"Doubtful. That would assume that the students know their strategic strengths and weakness, if that were the case, they shouldn't need to choose it, more like declare it. Hmmm… Kanetsugu said that the teams are made of four persons, the headmaster spoke of pairs, so maybe it's a more simple approach. Chess pieces come in pairs, with the exception of the King and the Queen." Nobunaga explained while absentmindedly taking a black piece in the shape of a horse's head.

"So, we'll be working along the other pair that takes the other black horse?" Ranmaru asked, carefully eyeing the twin of the piece in his lord's hand.

"That seems like a good guess. Although these pieces are called knights, not horses." Nobunaga replied, although he and Ranmaru quickly exchanged surprised looks, and then turned to look at the other side of the ruins, where pieces of another color were placed.

"These are not white." Ranmaru stated the obvious, for the pieces seemed to be of a pale golden color.

"That's not entirely true. In this game, the opponent of the black pieces, are always called white, despite the color they may show. The heavens surely have a strange sense of humor." Nobunaga clarified, smiling at this turn of events, it was a long shot, but it was a sign.

"So, we'll be black knights aiding the white ones." Ranmaru stated, simplifying greatly the core of their mission, and earning a chuckle form his lord, an approving one.

"Your words are true, Ranmaru. Now grab the other black knight, the heavens will show us who need our help, but that doesn't mean we can't choose our partners for this endeavor." Nobunaga ordered, and Ranmaru obeyed without hesitation. Once this was done they went to hide to spy who would grab each other piece, and to select possible partners.

It didn't take long for the other students to appear, the first two pairs to arrive were males, all wearing armor, and both pair took the black bishops, the next pair was a long haired blond and a sleek black haired girl, this pair took one of the white knights, although their choice seemed quite random for Ranmaru's liking; what happened next seemed to be the beginning of a build up comedy in the making, a girly scream in the distance, a petite red caped girl falling from the sky, subsequently being intercepting by a flying male blond, the entrance of the hyperactive orange haired girl riding an ursa, which was being followed by a green clad boy, this last pair took the white rook piece, and Ranmaru was grateful for that, that perky girl seemed like a handful; it was here that they got startled by the entrance of a long red haired girl wearing bronze armor over very little clothing, being chased by a large deathstalker, Ranmaru was about to go in and help the poor girl, but Nobunaga motioned for him to just watch; the last to enter the scene fell from the sky too, a white haired girl, which the blond tried to catch mid air, just to get the both of them to the ground, and while the blond managed to cushion the girl's fall, Ranmaru hardly qualified that as good move.

"We wait until they truly need help, then we enter, that will help to create a bond through gratitude. That will help us to get closer to our target, besides, we have yet to know the extent of their capabilities, and they may be far stronger than us for all we know." Nobunaga explained to Ranmaru, who nodded in acceptance.

A few seconds later they saw the red haired girl being launched toward the group, and this seemed to make the red caped girl mad, for she dashed at the deathstalker faster than any horse that Nobunaga had seen, and Matsukaze was an extremely fast horse, this was futile though, for the giant scorpion simple batted her back like it was nothing, that wasn't surprising, considering that the one that they fought upon arriving to Remnant was as strong and as armored as the one that was now in the clearing. The red caped girl, now at a disadvantage, used her scythe like a gun, to no effect, and tried to retreat, action that was foiled by a barrage of giant black feathers coming from above, that made them turn upward, and then finally noticed the circling nevermore.

"This could get messy." Ranmaru stated while readying his nodachi to enter the battle, Nobunaga getting ready too, but as the deathstalker was about to use its stinger on the little girl, a blur of white, and a wall of ice appeared to save the day by trapping the tail, making both Nobunaga and Ranmaru relax, they weren't needed, at least not just yet.

After some bickering and talking, the remaining pairs took their own set of pieces, the blond and red haired warriors took the second white rook, while the little girl and her white clad companion took the second white knight, hopefully signaling them as the targets they were looking for; a minute later they fled from the scene, deciding to return to the check point rather than fighting both monsters at the same time, a sound strategy, but it also marked them as inexperienced warriors.

"I would have cut down the scorpion first." Nobunaga said while looking at the retreating teens, that were being followed by the nevermore.

"Why is that?" Ranmaru asked, but got his answer when the scorpion freed itself from the ice wall, the enraged monster quickly went in the direction of the teens, earning an understanding nod from Ranmaru.

"Let's wait a couple of minutes for more pairs to appear, and then we chase the white knights to lend our help." Nobunaga revealed his plan, and Ranmaru simply nodded, not needing to question the plan.

Nobunaga and Ranmaru walked to the ruins again, expecting to wait for the next pair to appear, they didn't have to wait though, for in that moment Mitsuhide bursted out from the forest line, running at full speed.

"Oh, it's just Mitsuhide." Ranmaru deadpanned, he really hoped that the traitor wouldn't be one of his lord's partners, then Kanetsugu appeared, running at top speed too, apparently the heavens really wanted them to work together.

"And Kanetsugu." Ranmaru noted now, Nobunaga chuckled as he noted the odd sense of humor of the god that gave them their quest. He stopped when the reason behind the haste of the two warriors appeared behind them. A reptile, larger than the deathstalker, a large neck with a bone armored head, sporting only one eye full of malice, most of its body was also armored, leaving only a few soft spots, even the long tail had large spiked bone plates protecting it, there was some damage to the creature too, it had large black wings, but one was visibly broken, the other had large tears that made it unusable, also a large drill shaped lance was stuck on its back, this was a monster that was ancient, and that had seen battle in a really large scale.

"And a dragon…" Ranmaru noted not happy at all.

"Time to fight then, we'll need Kanetsugu for our mission." Nobunaga stated, charging into battle; Ranmaru followed suit, smiling at the idea that Mitsuhide was optional to save, of course that didn't mean that he was to actively seek for an opportunity to get rid of him… at least not just yet…

"Mitsuhide! We need to kill this abomination! We can't allow it to attack other students!" Kanetsugu shouted to Mitsuhide, who was still running.

"I know, but we need space to move!" Mitsuhide replied as he came to a stop, he didn't ran out of cowardice, but as a tactic, in such an enclosed space, he wouldn't be able to block or dodge those claws, or maw, on an open space though, it was easier to track the movements of the beast.

Back in the cliff…

"Oh no! A Fafnir!" Glynda shouted in panic, it had been decades since the last sighting of one of the cursed dragons, even if it was a crippled one, it was common knowledge that it was more than a match for veteran hunters.

"Don't worry too much. I doubt that such manipulative mind would be so easily overwhelmed, and of course a wielder of light shouldn't have too much trouble." Ozpin said with a calm tone that Glynda didn't appreciate; he hadn't been happy when Nobunaga managed to solve the meaning of the pieces, and he was even less happy when Nobunaga blatantly cheated to select his partners, well, it wasn't technically cheating, because no one said anything about taking a relic for another pair, but he didn't like when his plans were modified without his consent.

Back in the ruins…

Nobunaga and Ranmaru were fast to join the others to fight the monster, but the dragon was quick to defend itself from the strongest attacks, and seemed to be awfully aware of the battle monk, for whenever he tried to use his charms in a more powerful way, it used its tail to break his focus, they needed to end it fast, for they wouldn't last in a long confrontation, besides, Nobunaga knew that the white knight most likely needed them right now.

"This isn't working I can't focus for enough time for a strong attack!" Kanetsugu called as he evaded another tail sweep, he had the great urge to kill the monster, and was getting angry at not being able to do it fast.

"Would you be able to make a killer attack if we distract it enough?" Nobunaga asked as he kept slashing the claw that tried to pin him, while Ranmaru and Mitsuhide tried to slash open the neck of the dragon.

"Give me a full minute, and I'll give you a dead dragon!" Kanetsugu replied, and then took out some of his special paper charms.

"Very well then. Ranmaru, flank the monster and wait until you have a clear soft spot to attack, Mitsuhide, you and me will keep that eye on us for as long as possible." Nobunaga shouted, and then moved to the field vision of the dragon, crossing Ranmaru in the way.

"I hate this plan!" Mitsuhide shouted while getting ready for a counter, he was gripping his katana hard while it was sheathed, fully focused in the moves of the monster, when it extended its neck to try swallow him, he side stepped to the side, slashing the side of its face, so dangerously close to the eye, that the beast roared in rage.

"Fight me, beast!" Nobunaga shouted while sending a dark pulse to the other side of its head, with this they got its full attention, so they began to alternate slashes and dodges enraging the dragon even more, making it forget about their companions, the dragon however was powerful and fast enough to begin to push them back, and after several seconds, it was about to try and swallow Nobunaga, it was at this time too, that Ranmaru found the spot he was looking for, the underbelly was not protected where it could cause friction with the hinder leg.

"You will not harm him!" Ranmaru shouted while leaping at the side of the dragon, piercing its hide with his nodachi, going all the way to the hilt, then he pushed himself down with his leg, opening a large wound, it was deep and large to earn a massive cry of pain from the monster; the dragon stood on its hinder legs, roaring in anger and pain, and then began to move to fall to the side it had been injured, apparently in hopes of crushing whoever caused said injury, it was at this moment that Kanetsugu decided he had charged enough spiritual power.

"FEEL THE WRATH OF THE HEAVENS!" Kanetsugu shouted while unleashing his attack, six paper charms were spinning around his pointing finger, and from the middle of them, a bright ray of light formed, this caught the dragon in the maw, and was strong enough to push it back, and to make it fall in the opposite direction, saving Ranmaru, and leaving an unmoving dragon in the ground.

"It's not sublimating…" Nobunaga noted with interest, and a little bit of fear, that had been a truly overpowered attack, the creature should have been turned into smoke and ichors in an instant, not remain almost intact.

"Maybe we should go, leave this to a larger group of hunters, this is their specialty anyway." Mitsuhide added, not afraid of being called coward, this kind of situations required wisdom, not reckless bravery.

"My lord?" Ranmaru decided to simply ask for orders, not that he wanted to stay near the fallen dragon any longer than Mitsuhide. However Nobunaga did not reply, for he was watching how Kanetsugu walked to the ancient grimm, righteous fury leaking off him like the radiance of the sun; Ranmaru and Mitsuhide joined in staring at him, how he reached the head of the dragon, and how he took his sword with both hands, the tip pointing toward the eye.

"You will never harm another innocent! DIE!" Kanetsugu shouted while stabbing the eye, going as deep as possible, while channeling all his spiritual energy into the blade, this resulted in the head of the dragon exploding in a shower of blood and gore, and this time, the remains began to sublimate as it was common for the grimm. With the dragon gone, Kanetsugu simply allowed his exhaustion to show, that had been extremely taxing for him.

"Ranmaru, take note: Never anger Kanetsugu. Well, now that we are done here, I need to tell you that I found four white knights." Nobunaga suddenly said, and that earned surprised stares.

"What?! Where?!" Mitsuhide quickly asked, too enticed by the idea of earning his wish to care if the information was true or not.

"They went to the east of here, a couple of minutes before you showed up with the dragon." Nobunaga answered earning a face palm from Mitsuhide.

"We need to hurry, we saw one of those giant scorpions chasing them." Ranmaru added, trying to leave less room to arguments.

"Then there is no time to lose, they may need our help!" Kanetsugu called, already going in the direction Nobunaga mentioned.

"My thoughts exactly!" Nobunaga replied, and then began to run along Kanetsugu, closely being followed by Ranmaru and Mitsuhide.

By the time the warriors reached the teenagers, they were just in time to join Jaune, the female red haired warrior, the hyperactive girl and the green clad boy… in watching the petite girl that Kanetsugu recognized as Ruby, running up the side of a mountain, carrying the giant nevermore by the neck with her scythe, and decapitating it when she reached the end, it was quite an spectacular maneuver, but it let the warriors thinking…

"What was that about them needing our help?" Mitsuhide asked, in hope of getting some clarification on their mission.

"Helping in a fight doesn't always mean help fighting." Ranmaru stated, much to the pleasure of Nobunaga, who admittedly was looking for other explanations.

"Well… We should get back to search for a relic, otherwise we won't have more chances to help." Kanetsugu said, although he looked really tired, Mitsuhide grimaced and nodded, he certainly hoped that there was no more opposition of the same caliber of the dragon.

"There is no need for that. Ranmaru, please give them our second relic." Nobunaga ordered, and much to the surprise of Mitsuhide and Kanetsugu, Ranmaru gave them a small figurine of a black horse's head.

"This is it?" Mitsuhide asked, a little doubtful.

"It is, now let's go and get sorted into teams, all of us, together." Nobunaga said, while motioned to the teenagers, he may not have been able to lend a hand in a fight, but he will show courtesy in escorting the youngsters back to safety, this thought was reinforced by seeing the blond warrior waving to Kanetsugu.

Beacon Main Hall, a couple of hours later…

Mitsuhide was having a bad feeling; it started when Glynda asked the students to form specific lines of four, it made sense to place the pairs together, but the second pair added to the group seemed weird, as if the teams had been already formed through some sort of divination. This seemed to be confirmed when the students were called in the order they were lined, although he didn't know what meant the name of the piece retrieved, like 'bishop', much less the spelling of the names of the teams, like CRDL (Cardinal). The naming of teams JNPR (Juniper) and RWBY (Ruby) were more than enough to already make him growl, but he guessed that it was too late to do something drastic about it, then came the moment he dreaded.

"Mitsuhide Akechi, Ranmaru Mori, Kanetsugu Naoe and Nobunaga Oda." Ozpin called the names of the next team to be named, the last team; the four stepped forward, standing to attention, although Mitsuhide was not happy at all.

"The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces, so you will be now known as team NKRA (Nocturnal), led by… Nobunaga Oda. I have great expectations of you." Ozpin announced, and Nobunaga simple made a nod of acceptance. Internally, Mitsuhide was screaming, this was the worst day ever, of all time.

* * *

 **Magnus:** If CFVY can be spelled as Coffee then I can spell NKRA as Nocturnal, so I'm not accepting flames for that. I may be inclined to accept a change if you propose a better acronim.


	5. The Burden of Leadership

**Magnus:** Sorry for the delay, but seriously, making the basce scenes of the series to fit with the new scenes is harder than writting it all from scratch, anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

 **Disclaimer:** Unless asked by the site to do it again, I'm not repeating it.

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

 **The Burden of Leadership.**

The first day in their lives as students, and they had woken up before sunrise, this was not new to them, what was new was the fact that they had to wake up together in the same room. Not used to sleep in occidental beds, and facing hated faces first thing in the morning, was not a good way to start the day for one Mitsuhide…

"I hate this…" Mitsuhide muttered as he began to dress in the uniform that was given to him by the academy's staff.

"I know. I don't understand how anyone can sleep on this kind of thing." Kanetsugu added, getting dressed too, leaving his helmet away for once, mostly because there was no battle ahead.

"If it is too much trouble for you, we could always return the beds to the faculty and use futons." Nobunaga added, clearly well rested after sleeping in the occidental bed, and already dressed on his brand new uniform.

"Thank goodness! Glynda-sensei did not forget I'm a man!" Ranmaru expressed his relief at seeing that his uniform was indeed for a male, and not one of those outrageous short skirts.

"So… It is possible to get some futons?" Kanetsugu asked, wisely focusing the attention on anything else but Ranmaru's feminine antics.

"Yes, although here are called sleeping bags. I'll just fill the petition in my scroll and send it to Glynda-sensei for authorization, from there, we'll just have to wait." Nobunaga replied, handling the piece of technology quite well, or at least better than the others.

"Can we ask for a kettle and a small stove? Having tea would be nice." Ranmaru asked as he was now dressed on the male uniform… he didn't look any less feminine.

"Some tatami would be appreciated too; this stone floor is rather harsh." Kanetsugu added now, kneeling was getting harder for their knees.

"Done. Anything else to add?" Nobunaga asked, happy to use everything new.

"Don't we have class to attend?" Mitsuhide suddenly said, he wasn't looking forward to that, but the way everyone seemed to get used to this world was getting on his nerves.

"Classes start in one hour, but I guess it would be good to be there before time." Nobunaga conceded, and so they exited their dorm to go to their first class, in the way Kanetsugu noted that the room next door belonged to team RWBY, the white knights, and the room in front belonged to team JNPR, that couldn't be coincidence.

They walked at a slow pace, sightseeing all they could, taking in architecture and technology alike, watching other students of different grades go in their everyday life, so it took them around 30 minutes to get to the classroom, which means that Ranmaru had to endure the looks and not so subtle comments from many students, apparently the male clothes did nothing to persuade other boys into not believing him not to be a woman, and the small relief he felt when some girls commented on his attractiveness died when they made it obvious they preferred girls too; to say he was annoyed by the time they entered the classroom would be a serious understatement.

"Seriously, if I hear another comment…" Ranmaru began to rant as they entered the classroom, just for an over weighted teacher, that somewhat remembered them of certain Ieyasu, addressed them in a way that he would soon regret.

"It is good to see such enthusiasm from this new generation, but, young lady, can you explain why are you wearing a uniform clearly designed for boys?" Professor Port, if they were reading his name plate correctly, welcomed them, although the last part was not appreciated; Ranmaru quickly walked until he was in front of the professor, he would not tolerate such insult to his masculinity.

"I. AM. NOT. A WOMAN!" Ranmaru shouted to the professor, much to the horror of his teammates; meanwhile, Professor Port simply stared at Ranmaru for a full minute, and then made a face of surprise.

"I see… I'm very sorry, young man, but at that distance, and with my poor eyesight, you looked a little less masculine than the standard male student. This is a mistake I will not commit again." Professor port replied with an honest and rather disarming voice.

"That's ok… I'm sorry for yelling, please forgive my rudeness, sensei." Ranmaru not only accepted the apology, but apologized too; this of course surprised the professor.

"Sensei? Ah! I understand now! You are the tribesmen that Miss Goodwitch found! I can hardly wait to start swapping stories with you all!" Professor Port acknowledged the four of them, and by the glint in his eyes, they knew that the rambling may never end…

Between the dorms and the school…

"I wonder if they are ok…" Glynda said, more to herself than to Ozpin, who was by her side.

"I'm sure they'll adapt to classes just fine, if anything, the young Oda will make everything seem normal." Ozpin reassured her, while taking a sip of his ever present coffee mug.

"It's not classes or the teachers what worries me, the four of them are very respectful of the authority, and so well mannered that I doubt they would ever cause trouble; It's the other students that may try something, believing that they would be easy targets." Glynda finally voiced her fears, during the two weeks she had them under her care she found them to be perfect gentlemen, even when there was animosity between Nobunaga and Mitsuhide, it never escalated beyond glares, which was way more mature than many adults she knew.

"If you take the young Oda into consideration, I would be more concerned about the safety of the other students instead, such a 'bright' mind would hardly find things out of his control; of course if you mean the trouble that the young Mori's true nature will cause…" Ozpin elaborated his point, making obvious his distaste for the visionary.

"Seriously, Ozpin, I can't believe you are still sore about being outmaneuvered by a new student, you should be grateful to have such a wonderful student under your guidance." Glynda replied, much to the annoyance of the headmaster.

"I'm not sore. And that was cheating." Ozpin defended his point, although it sounded almost childish.

"Of course, and you didn't believe Ranmaru to be a girl the first moment you saw him." Glynda's sarcastic remark caused the headmaster to groan, his only saving grace was that he didn't directly call Ranmaru a girl, it was at this moment that they saw teams RWBY and JNPR running toward class, with barely a minute left to reach the classroom.

"Well, at least it will be a lively year." Ozpin said, changing the topic of the conversation; Glynda could only shake her head at the scene.

Back at the classroom…

Teams RWBY and JNPR managed to enter the classroom just five seconds before the time limit, earning the stares of every other student, especially from team NKRA. Having not many seats left, both teams had to sit at the front, with team RWBY sitting just in front of team NKRA, much to Ruby delight, which she showed by happily waving to Kanetsugu, who smiled and returned the gesture.

"My little sister likes a boy. That's so cute!" Yang suddenly said, much to Ruby's horror, and to Kanetsugu's embarrassment.

"YANG!" Ruby could only shout her sister's name while attempting to cover the blonde's mouth, it was rather futile…

"Awww, come on! There is nothing wrong with that." Yang continued with her teasing, internally pleased that her little sister managed to socialize, although ready to become overprotective if the guy tried to go too far.

"Could you two please be silent? Class is about to start, and this is hardly the place to have such conversation." Mitsuhide interrupted them, and everyone could see Ruby sporting an adorable pout with flushed cheeks, and Kanetsugu with his face on the table, probably wishing to be invisible.

"Finally! Someone with common sense and refinement." Weiss said as she took a good look at Mitsuhide, again; his politeness only added weight to the idea that she had finally found her charming prince, then she instantly blocked that train of thought, she couldn't just have all she wanted that easily.

And so, with a final cough from the professor, the class began. Professor Port's class was titled as 'Grimm Anatomy', and the curricular description portrayed it as integral to the huntsmen and huntresses trade, as it would point the strengths and weaknesses of the different subspecies of Grimm… Whoever wrote that obviously forgot to mention such things to the professor, for he used most of the time to tell embellished tales of his exploits, this added to his flawed narrative made for an extraordinary boring class; even Nobunaga would have had a difficult time staying awake, if not for the current source of entertainment.

"Ok, I understand it now, she is unbearable cute, and you can't help yourself about it." Ranmaru discretely said to a wide eyed Kanetsugu.

"It's not… like that…" Kanetsugu was barely able to answer, because he couldn't stop looking at Ruby and her childish antics.

It started innocent enough, with Ruby scribbling on her notebook, with a little giggle here and there, soon enough she shared her handiwork with her team, and the warriors, a mere childish drawing of an overly fat professor Port, this of course earned muffled laughs from the girls, and a mere grin from the warriors, then she began to do more outrageous things, like balancing a few things while making faces, snoring and even picking her nose, she wasn't harming anyone, if anything, she was making time pass faster, and seemingly reducing the boredom of the class, unfortunately, her teammate, Weiss Schnee, didn't seem to agree.

"So, who among you believe to be the embodiment of these traits?" Professor Port asked as he finished his tirade about the qualities of the huntsmen and huntresses.

"I do, sir!" Weiss immediately answered, she even raised her hand for more effect.

"Well then, let's find out. Step forward, and face your opponent!" The professor called, while pointing to a cage that was just recently brought, with a grimm inside, if the shaking and snarling was any indication.

It took Weiss only a couple of minutes to be dressed and armed, although the warriors still questioned the wisdom of using high heels during a fight, and when she was finally at the stage, ready to fight, her teammates began to cheer her up, so far that Blake even had a small flag, but Weiss didn't take it kindly…

"Ruby, I'm trying to focus!" Weiss shouted at her leader, and Nobunaga began to see that there would be frictions to ease in the very near future.

"Oh, sorry…" Ruby meekly replied, she even looked a little hurt.

"All right. Let the match begin!" Professor Port called as he smashed the lock of the cage with his blunderbuss-axe. The beast resembled a boar, just larger, and with bone armor, its red eyes though, reflected violence and malice, en evil creature, although not a truly challenging one.

"From here I don't see any armor on the underside." Nobunaga quickly noted.

"They also can't look downward." Ruby quickly joined the conversation, cheering up immediately, but not taking her eyes away from the fight.

"With that thick neck I doubt it can turn around quickly." Ranmaru supplied, making both teams to go into thinking posses.

"If it has so many obvious weaknesses, why is she having so much trouble?" Mitsuhide suddenly asked, making everyone focus on the fight.

The fight had started just as everyone expected, with the boar-like grimm blindly charging against Weiss, at which she replied by sidestepping and slashing its side, without much effect; of course, Ruby began to loudly cheer her teammate, which once again, seemed to only distract the combatant, if her angry lunge was any indication, her reward for such recklessness was to be disarmed and thrown back; the grimm, showing to be a merely mindless beast, just charged again without any thought, so Weiss rolled to the side, which gave her the much needed window to make a run for her weapon.

"Weiss! Go for the belly, there is no ar…" Ruby began to yell an actually useful advice, but couldn't complete it…

"STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" Weiss all but screamed back at Ruby, who could only look hurt at her teammate reaction, which neither of the warriors approved.

The grimm seemed to react to the negative emotions in the air, for it began to spin while building momentum for a powered charge, this time however, Weiss seemed ready for the attack and hold her ground, as the monster hurled toward her, she summoned a pair of glyphs, one in front of her, serving as a wall, and another behind and up, angled; the grimm collided with her magic wall, recoiling back and ended on its back, with its belly exposed, Weiss immediately leaped to the second glyph, and used it to propel herself toward the grimm, impaling it with her rapier, ending the match.

"Bravo! It seems we are, indeed, in the presence of a true huntress in training." Professor Port stated as the grimm began to sublimate, and Mitsuhide barely resisted the urge to scoff at the masked insult delivered, although it seemed that Weiss was unaware of it.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and stay vigilant! Class dismissed!" When the professor finished, Weiss quickly made her way out, apparently even angrier than before, and everyone noticed; her teammates shared worried glances, but only Ruby went after her.

"Weiss!" Ruby called after her teammate, catching up with her at the gate of the classroom.

"WHAT?!" Weiss yelled back, stopping on her tracks.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being…" Ruby began to ask, she hadn't noticed, but team NKRA was at just a few steps from her.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?! You are supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far, is a nuisance!" Weiss accused in what, to team NKRA, was a very unfair point of view, after all, there has yet to be a single mission assigned to grade the leadership of the hunters, and childish behavior in class hardly proved anything.

"What did I do?!" Ruby asked in a voice that sounded hurt.

"That's just it! You did nothing to earn your position. Back in the forest you acted like a child, and you continue to do so!" Weiss explained her rather weak argument, and while Mitsuhide could have agreed, except he recognized that Ruby DIDN'T ask to be the leader, nor Nobunaga, not even Jaune, and the option to quit was not given.

"Weiss, where did this come from? What happened to all the talking about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team." Ruby asked, more worried about the team as a whole than her position as leader.

"Not a team led by you. I studied, and trained, and quite frankly I deserve better!" Weiss answered while giving her back to Ruby, a rude gesture that team NKRA disagreed to, Ruby tried to say something, anything to fix the situation, but Weiss didn't allowed it.

"Ozpin made a mistake." Weiss finished and walked away, leaving a clearly hurt Ruby behind. It was at this moment that the samurai warriors decided to take action; Nobunaga and Ranmaru discretely went after Weiss, Kanetsugu approached Ruby, and Mitsuhide went to copy the diagrams of the grimm, for he still believed that the help that the knights required was centered in battle, not in petty affairs.

"Are you all right?" Kanetsugu asked while placing a supportive hand on Ruby's shoulder, it was a simple gesture, but meaningful nonetheless.

"Do you think she is right? That I being the leader am a mistake?" Ruby asked, she was desperately looking for some encouraging words, words that Kanetsugu would deliver with happiness.

"Ruby, to be a good leader, you need both a good heart, and commanding skills; so far, I can say with all honesty, that you have a big heart that is in the right place, as for the commanding skills, there has yet to be an instance where such skills are properly tested." Kanetsugu explained while gently squeezing her shoulder, earning a smile from the red caped huntress.

"Thanks, I really needed that." Ruby said while placing her hand over Kanetsugu's, squeezing it in return, in all honesty, it felt good to have someone showing support to her; it was then that a cough made them aware of their surroundings.

"I hope you aren't planning to skip some steps with my sister." Yang suddenly said while interrupting the scene, although it was difficult to tell if she was teasing them, or being serious and menacing.

"Eh?" Both Kanetsugu and Ruby were at a loss, it took them several seconds to understand that the way they were touching would most likely being misinterpreted as something else.

"I'M SORRY!" Kanetsugu shouted while taking away his hand, trying to be as gentle as possible while doing it fast.

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Ruby shouted while flailing her arms comically, making Blake chuckle; in the background, Ozpin allowed a smile to adorn his face, Kanetsugu may not have used the words he would have used, but the message was there, and that was what was important, Ruby Rose will become a fine leader, in due time and with the proper guidance.

Meanwhile…

Weiss had reached one of the multiple balconies, she needed to cool down, to properly think about things, after all, she couldn't just enter the headmaster's office and demand to be placed as leader of the team, she needed a better argument that 'I'm better', she was in such deep thought, that she didn't hear nor sense the presence of the visionary as he approached her.

"Ah! There you are. I was looking for you." Nobunaga said, loud and firm enough to gain her full attention, but casually enough to not sound demanding.

"You were? Why?" Weiss asked, surprised to be approached by the leader of another team.

"You'll see, I couldn't help but to hear your argument with your team leader, and I believe that you should have a chance to prove if you are better suited for the burden of the leadership." Nobunaga explained, and Weiss refrained herself from asking how did he know about the argument, after all, she wasn't exactly discrete or quiet about it.

"And how do you propose to prove this?" Weiss asked, as much as she wanted to be recognized, she had to be cautious, that's what her father had taught her.

"It's quite simple, I'll describe a hypothetical scenario, in which you will be faced with a hard choice that only a true leader could make." Nobunaga explained in a rather simple way, and Weiss actually liked the idea, for it would help to prove her point, while not harming or denigrating anyone.

"So, after passing this test of yours, will you vouch for me in front of the headmaster?" Weiss asked, just to be sure.

"But of course, a team should be lead by the most suitable leader!" Nobunaga replied, filling her with confidence to undertake this test, after all, it was only a hypothetical scenario; it was then that she noticed his smile, it was a haunting smile, that she will come to dread in the future.

"Very well, tell me about this scenario." Weiss stated, ready to pass this simple question with flying colors.

"Splendid! Now listen well, and be ready to take in all the details: Imagine that you have a sister, one that you love with all your heart, that you wish to see smile every day. This sister of yours has just found the love of her life; a very promising young man with a very optimistic view of the world, and just seeing them together fills you with hope for the future. One day, you hear from a very trusty source of information that a rival clan is plotting to destroy everything you know, and the only way to survive is to destroy the clan completely, however, the man that your sister loves is forced to help this clan, and your sister, loving him so much, is more than ready to stay by his side during this event. You have two choices presented in front of you: Keep going forward, destroying this clan and securing the future you have worked for, destroying your sister's happiness, and even your sister herself; or, do nothing, and be destroyed with the hope that your sister MAY remain happy after everything had settled down. Tell me, Weiss Schnee, what will you choose?" Nobunaga finished his tirade, but what he found was not a thinking Weiss, but a little girl frozen in horror, lost in a memory so painful, that proved his point much more effectively than seeing someone being injured under her orders.

Weiss was back at her home in Atlas, she was a little child again, and she was watching her most beloved sister, Winter, having a verbal fight with her father; this was not one of their normal fights though, this time Winter was crying, tears of pain and loss were badly mixed with screams of hate, their father, due to intelligence gathered, found that a group of activists were going to stage a revolt in one of the mines in the border, one so important that it would have been a crippling blow to the military operations of the kingdom; their father opted for the easiest way out, he hired mercenaries to dress as the white fang and assault the mine, killing the activists, and taking the cargo of dust as payment for their services, one of the activists however, was Winter's boyfriend, that destroyed the poor girl, and finding the documents that proved their father's involvement only made things worse, that day she joined the Atlesian army, and never returned home…

" _You are now heiress to our company, daughter. In time you'll understand that hard decisions need a cold heart."_ Those were the words her father ingrained in her that day, the worst day of her life…

"So… I guess you are not ready to take the burden of leadership." Nobunaga's words returned her to the present, not that it would help her to answer that horrible question.

"I… can't…" Weiss replied, tears menacing to flow out if she doesn't find a way to repress her feelings.

"I understand, I'm not judging you. But perhaps you shouldn't judge others so lightly, maybe you could propose this scenario to your team leader tonight, even if she can't answer you could try to answer it together, and share the burden of leadership, as a team." Nobunaga said, and then departed, leaving her to her thoughts, to ponder in the situation presented.

Later that night…

Weiss had thought about the scenario that Nobunaga proposed, and as much as she hated to admit it, she just couldn't take the choice, there was no way she could sacrifice her sister, and there was no way she could take the blow without fighting back, so the first thing she did when she entered her dorm, was to make a bee line toward Ruby, who was currently sleeping against her notebook; just seeing her like that, a child of pure heart peacefully sleeping on her makeshift bunk bed, she almost lost her resolution to make her part of such horrible test, but her need to prove her point was great, so she woke her up.

"Ruby." Weiss called her name while lightly shaking her, it took a moment, but Ruby finally opened her eyes.

"Weiss! I swear I was studying and…" Ruby began to rant her apology, she was much better thanks to Kanetsugu, but she also wanted to prove to Weiss that she could be a good leader, even if that meant memorizing all the books.

"Shhhh. It's ok, we all need to sleep. Look, I shouldn't have said what I did, at least not without giving you the chance to even try to be a leader." Weiss explained, trying to set the ground to prove her point, if nothing else, they could share the leadership.

"I… thank you, Weiss. I promise you to do my best as a leader and… to ask for your advice in everything that you know better than me." Ruby replied, her voice becoming smaller at the end, Weiss couldn't help but to recognize her humility, not that it deterred her from her next course of action.

"Then let's begin with a small test of character, a simple question." Weiss stated, while leaving the bait for Ruby to take, which she happily took. It took fifteen minutes for Weiss to explain the hypothetical scenario in terms that Ruby could understand, it took fifteen minutes of fighting back the tears that came up with the feelings being brought up by the scenario, fifteen agonizing minutes of seeing Ruby's condescending stare… it took only fifteen seconds for Ruby to come up with an answer…

"Well, I would send them on a date on the other side of town while I was taking down the bad guys." Ruby replied with a smile, destroying any preconceptions that Weiss had built up to now.

"What?!" Weiss barely managed to not shout, Ruby's answer was brilliant on its simplicity, it was perfect to the point of being scary, if her father had faked a 'family diner' to invite Winter's boyfriend at the same time he sent the mercenaries, her childhood could have been infinitely better; of course there was no guarantee that it would work in the long way, but it was far better that what had happened.

"I guess it was too simple…" Ruby said dejected, she had taken Weiss outburst as a bad sign, and it showed.

"No! No… it was perfect, I'm just surprised you didn't take one of the choices presented." Weiss quickly explained, making Ruby smile again.

"Well, I didn't like any of them, and you didn't say I could not propose another way." At Ruby's explanation, Weiss decided to stop questioning her position as a leader, and decided to be there for her, to help her in refining the finer points of her plans and choices.

"I may not have the training or education to be a leader, but I promise you to always do my best, and to listen to your advice. Friends?" Ruby continued, and extended her hand toward Weiss, when she took it, they finally became a true team.

* * *

 **Magnus:** I promise the next chapter will have more action, or at least as much as an angry Ranmaru can provide.


	6. Aura Awakening

**Magnus:** I must say I'm impressed, this story finally got a thousand hits! I'm grateful, maybe soon I'll be able to update another one of my stories. Anyway, enjoy this chapter. Thanks for reading!

 **Disclaimer:** Not again until asked todo so.

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

 **Aura Awakening**

For the recently formed team NKRA, their first day of classes was truly underwhelming, professor Port was a prime example of bad teaching, with the only highlight being the use of live grimm to drive point in their anatomy, but it hardly made up for the terrible boredom that he brought upon is students. Doctor Oobleck was merely ok, while his knowledge on his historical classes was commendable, his tendency to talk as fast as possible was not; the best part of Oobleck's class was when team NKRA, unintentionally, pissed the fast talking doctor to no end, it all started when they called him sensei, then Oobleck tried to clarify that he was a doctor and not a professor, so far as describing the curricular differences between the two, it was then that the samurai warriors delivered the fatal blow, as Nobunaga indicated that the honorific sensei covered both titles, not wanting to antagonize with the tribesmen, Oobleck conceded their cultural point, then Yang had to ask if she could call him sensei too, it was then that he knew that he would never be called doctor again…

That was yesterday, today their expectations were much higher, for it was an entire day with Glynda-sensei, who had both 'Grimm battle tactics' and 'Sparring', which means that they were not only allowed to carry their weapons, but expected to use them in class.

"Finally! A class worthy of attending, and a way to do some needed workout." Mitsuhide exclaimed while entering the arena that served as classroom, it was a very nice place for a duel.

"If you needed that workout so badly, I believe there are facilities for it." Kanetsugu joined the conversation, a little bit puzzled about Mitsuhide's need to exercise.

"He was referring to the chance of dueling with my lord." Ranmaru answered the unspoken question of the battle monk, who could only shake his head in annoyance.

"Do what you wish, Mitsuhide, just remember that we should take note in the need that the white knights have." Nobunaga said as they reached a good row of seats; they were being followed by teams RWBY and JNPR, and once again the former sat in front of them, once again Ruby smiled and waved to Kanetsugu, while Weiss gave a polite nod to Nobunaga, who returned it with a smile of his own.

"Geez! Are we going to pick an entire team?" Yang said in a not so subtle tone that hinted to a very hormonal meaning.

"Yang!" Ruby once more screamed horrified by her sister's antics.

"Come on! It's not like that." Weiss joined her team leader, much to the delight of both teams.

"Knock it off; Weiss is only being polite to the one who talked some sense into her." Blake supplied, earning surprised stares from her teammates.

"HEY!" Weiss couldn't articulate anything, although that may be because it was the truth.

"Besides, we are four girls and that team only has three boys, we don't even know if that girl is dating someone already." Blake continued, and Ranmaru immediately jumped into the verbal fight.

"I'll have you know that I'm not…" Ranmaru's rant was cut short as Glynda Goodwitch entered the arena area, signaling the start of her class; her stern appearance and professional behavior only reinforced how worthy her class was.

"Welcome, students of Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch, and I'll be your combat instructor for the grimm combat tactics class, as well as your referee in all your duels. Both classes will be strictly regulated, so it is expected of you to follow all rules at all times, especially during the sparring matches. Today we'll start with sparring, the spars can begin with the selection of the first student, or with the volunteering of one, who would select the type of match, which can be a one on one, one versus team, doubles or team matches; this student, so he wishes, can challenge any other student currently attending class, but the one challenged is in no obligation to accept the challenge, nor to suffer any kind of remarks for any choice or result, did everyone understand?" Glynda's presentation was answered with a chorus of 'yes' from everyone present, she had made it very clear that she wasn't going to play along with the students.

"Good; any questions?" Glynda asked now, she actually didn't expect anyone to ask anything, but she managed to hide her surprise when a flamboyant blonde girl raised her hand.

"Are we going to call you 'Combat Instructor', 'Professor' or 'Sensei'?" Yang asked aloud, obviously in hopes of continuing the circus that started in Oobleck class, unfortunately for her, Glynda was well aware of the antics of the doctor, and how it had played with team NKRA innocent explanation.

"Whichever title is perfect, as all of them reflect my status, but I suggest you to not use foreign titles unless you are fully aware of their meaning, least you insult the culture from where they belong, and everyone else who actually knows the meaning." At Glynda's response, Yang wisely decided to low her hand and drop the topic, she also decided that Miss Goodwitch was going to be a tough bitch, but didn't voice her feelings about it, she liked her head where it was.

"Anymore questions? No? Very well, now, does someone volunteer?" Glynda asked now, she almost expected to have to resort to choose the first student randomly, but got surprised to see one of the boys she rescued to stand up.

"I volunteer, Glynda-sensei." Mitsuhide's response got everyone surprised, both for his confidence, and the way he addressed the combat instructor.

"Very well then; come to the combat zone and be ready to make your choices." Glynda called, not trying to correct the way she was addressed; Mitsuhide marched to the arena, he was ready to fight.

"I wish to challenge the leader of my team, Nobunaga Oda, into a one on one duel." Mitsuhide declared one he was in the center of the arena; this surprised everyone even more, so far everyone believed them to be very close and with no frictions, especially when everyone noticed them to be foreigners.

"The challenge has been issued, it's up to mister Oda to answer it, or not." Glynda relpied while looking in Nobunaga's direction, she really wanted him to decline; she had seen enough of their silent hostility to have to deal with it fully escalated into a bloody fight.

"I accept the challenge, for I believe it is better to settle our differences now, than when it is too late to prevent permanent damage." Nobunaga replied in a way that sounded far too cryptic for the message delivered.

If Mitsuhide's stride to the arena was confident, then Nobunaga seemed to lord his path to the arena, not like a mentor about to scold his pupil, but more like a king looking down upon a peasant. Once both were into the arena, the made sure to be at an appropriate distance of each other, then both bowed to Glynda, and then bowed to each other, slowly taking out their swords, and entering into a battle stance that made clear to everyone that they had quite a lot of experience in duels.

"Gentlemen, please remember the rules, this is not a death battle, and if I call the fight to a stop, you will do so immediately." Glynda remarked with a palpable urgency, she had yet to discover if their 'spirit' worked exactly as her 'aura'.

"Understood." Both warriors replied at the same time, not taking their eyes from one another.

"Then you may start!" Glynda called, and the fight begun, but not as the young hunters expected, there was no rush, no yelling, no exotic maneuvers, instead they watched each other for some seconds, as if examining their stances, team CRDL was about to yell to them to start fighting, when Nobunaga made the first movement.

"If you are not coming, then I'll have to get you." Nobunaga stated, and then began to walk at a fast pace, but not running. The moment he got to Mitsuhide he swung his sword against him with great strength and speed, Mitsuhide answered with a block with his sword and a spin to deliver an attack of his own, aimed to Nobunaga's neck, it was here when it was apparent he was fighting with the intent to kill, but Nobunaga just ducked under the swing, finishing with a punch to Mitsuhide's face.

"A finishing move should be delivered at the end of a battle, not at the start; you should know that by heart, Mitsuhide." Nobunaga stated in what seemed to be a mocking voice, which made everyone aware of the true skill of the visionary; then Glynda seemed to notice something off about the fight, the aura readings she was getting about the fighters remained unchanged.

"A battle should be ended as soon as possible; a first strike should be the last." Mitsuhide retorted, and then launched an assault at Nobunaga; his sword play was perfect, more than anything the students had seen before, it was closer to the choreography of the best movies than what belonged to a combat school, and yet, Nobunaga was mostly unfazed, easily deflecting Mitsuhide's blows with his sword; so far the students were wondering why Mitsuhide was not using his semblance, while Nobunaga used it from the start, if the black energy surrounding his sword was any indication.

"As true as your words are, Mitsuhide, you should always remember that strength alone isn't enough to grant you that first strike, much less victory!" Nobunaga lectured while starting to go on the offensive, Mitsuhide managed to block and deflect all direct hits, but allowed glancing hits to land on his armor, it was at this point that the students recognized the might of the warriors; it was at this point that Glynda noticed that something was very wrong.

"Then I'll risk everything for victory!" Mitsuhide shouted while making a quick step back, sheathing his katana in a rapid and fluid motion, one that made Blake cringe at how similar it looked to her old partner, and just like him, much to her horror, Mitsuhide unsheathed his katana for an incredibly fast disembowel slash, it seemed fast and strong enough to cut through Nobunaga's armor, enough to kill the leader of his team, if it had connected…

"Risking everything leads to losing everything, this much I already taught you." Nobunaga said as he was still in mid air, he had jumped until he was in a horizontal position, evading Mitsuhide's attack, and charging a dark pulse on his hand; Mitsuhide could only watch in mute horror as Nobunaga completed his spin, the dark energy already leaving his hand to deliver an end to the duel, but at this instant, it's when Glynda could not allow the battle to continue.

"STOP!" Glynda shouted while casting a magic barrier between the warriors, it successfully protected Mitsuhide from the heavy damage of the dark pulse, but it also had the unintentional effect of bouncing the dark pulse back to Nobunaga.

"GHAAA!" Nobunaga screamed as he was victim of his own art for the first time, the pulse launched him around ten feet away from the point of impact, making Glynda wince when he landed with a loud thud.

"MY LORD!" Ranmaru shouted while leaping to the arena, reaching Nobunaga in a mere instant, making some males to glare at the visionary for having such level of support from a pretty girl.

"I'm fine! I'm fine… just a little shaken for being in the receiving end of my own technique…" Nobunaga reassured as he tried to stand up, being aided by Ranmaru.

"I'm sorry… I didn't know that would happen. But why weren't you two using your aura to protect yourselves?" Glynda asked after she apologized; puzzling the warriors, and scaring the rest of the students.

"They weren't using aura?" The question began to roll among the students.

"But they looked ready to kill each other!" More whispers began to sound, making even more students uneasy, many suspected that this particular team wasn't used to their ways, but this was too extreme.

"Allow me to explain!" Kanetsugu suddenly shouted, earning the attention of everyone.

"From where we come from, we are only taught to use our spiritual power as a weapon, not as armor. We are also taught to respect the rules and to keep a strict code of honor; my companions weren't going to kill each other during this or any other sparring session." Kanetsugu finished his explanation, although he didn't mention that his companions my try to kill each other outside of such activities.

"Why weren't you taught to use your aura as armor?" Glynda asked while rubbing her temples, she knew she was the one to blame, she had spent two weeks with them, she should have noticed, or at least ask about their knowledge of aura, not simply assume.

"Because, back home, no one knows such teachings." Mitsuhide answered, now recovered from the duel.

"Then we have to change that. For now return to your seats, but the four of you will stay after class." Glynda stated, making the warriors rest for a while; then she turned her eyes to the rest of the students.

"This is a regrettable mistake that will serve to teach all of us something: We shall never assume that people from other cultures share the same knowledge that we do. As you can see, team NKRA comes from a distant tribe of fierce warriors, their lack of fear toward the grimm had us believing that they were adepts in the use of aura, now I believe that a more deep cultural exchange needs to occur to allow them access to the blessing we take for granted, and for us to understand the power they harness. I need four volunteers, or a team, to stay after class." Glynda called, earning more gasps at the revelation of the origins of the warriors; teams like CRDL sniggered at the idea of having tribals among them, while others felt sorry for them, like team JNPR. Only one team volunteered.

"I and my team will stay!" Ruby raised her hand and offered her entire team, her reasons almost a mystery, but the reaction of her team hilarious.

"WHAT?!" The rest of team RWBY exclaimed with distress, they didn't hate the foreigners, they just didn't want to be bombarded with questions from the other students.

"Thank you for offering, as a reward you'll be excused from classes for the rest of the day." When Glynda explained the last bit, the entire team decided that it may actually be worth it.

After class…

After all the students had left for a small recess, teams RWBY and NKRA remained behind, and now were standing in front of a very concerned Glynda Goodwitch, both teams were feeling a little bit uneasy, yet not overwhelmingly so.

"First of all, let me apologize again. It was my mistake to assume that your 'spirit' and our 'aura' were the same thing." Glynda began her approach, as much as she was a stern woman, she was also very aware of her own faults.

"There is no need to apologize, sensei. If anything, we are also guilty of assuming that your 'aura' teachings were the equivalent of our 'spirit' teachings; I should have noticed the difference sooner." Kanetsugu explained while bowing in what appeared to be an apologetic gesture.

"So, you know each other from before the school term?" Ruby ventured to ask, for her and her sister it wouldn't be strange, although by Weiss reaction, that seemed as something wrong to ask.

"I won't go into details, but they were under my care when first arriving to Vale. I know that this is sudden, but I beg you to help in unlocking their auras; I know that they feel comfortable without the extra protection, but I won't allow any student to go into battle without it." Glynda half explained, sounding serious and caring, but no less stern, this however seemed to form more questions.

"Professor, for what I can understand, they belong to one of the nomad tribes, but which one? I've never heard anything about warriors that don't use aura as armor, and survive for long." Weiss asked a very sensible question, one that Glynda didn't expect to answer so soon, she still had to fully integrate all the cultural details she had gotten.

"They came from far beyond the east, beyond the kingdom's borders, beyond the human frontier." Glynda explained as cryptically as possible, not wanting to give all the details so soon, sounding romantic in the process was a nice touch too.

"Wait! You mean they are from a tribe that descends from the kingdom of Edo?!" Blake let out a very uncharacteristic shout of surprise, she had always been obsessed with Edo themes, hence her ninja style, her use of short katanas and kusari-gama, as well as all the erotic novels portraying Edo style characters, to say that her interest on the foreigners skyrocketed would be a serious understatement.

"You found Edo's blood and culture, and didn't share the finding with the world?" Weiss asked in a very offended tone, truth to be told, she was more offended by the prospect of having to report back to Atlas that Vale had just scored a massive boost in the cultural standing… unless she maneuvered at least one of the foreigners to side with Atlas. She immediately crushed that thought, Atlas only cared for military advancement; she doubted any of the guys would enjoy that, much less the irritating pretty girl.

"The absorption of new culture is a rather slow affair, but rest assured, all the paperwork for the assimilation, as well as ciphers on language are passing through the council as we are speaking. Returning to what concern us now…" Glynda answered, and then tried to get back on track.

"We understand, we'll help to unlock their auras." Ruby answered before Glynda could finish, much to her pleasure.

"In exchange, I believe is only fair that we help you all to unleash your spirit for the first time." Nobunaga suddenly said, Mitsuhide perked at this, for it seemed like a good attempt to fulfill the requirements for a wish, of course he knew that there would be training involved in such a thing, no one mastered the use of spirit in the first go.

"That would be much appreciated; it would be the first attempt to mix our cultures." Glynda expressed her delight; Ozpin was going to do a happy dance after hearing this.

"Mind you, we'll only teach this to team RWBY, at least for now. They have shown to have good hearts that we can trust with these teachings. Others may have to prove the qualities required first." Kanetsugu's sudden intervention caught the rest of his team by surprise, unleashing the spirit was not hard, not required special requisites; for now they decided to play along, whatever the battle monk decided seemed to be for the best.

"That's acceptable, thank you. Now, girls, take each one a member of team NKRA to perform the ritual." Glynda accepted Kanetsugu's word, and then gave the order to begin.

"Come, Kanetsugu, let's find a good place to do this!" Ruby quickly said, and then took Kanetsugu by the hand, and guided him outside before anyone could say or do something.

"That wasn't…" Glynda tried to stop Ruby, for she actually meant to be supervising the whole ordeal.

"If you follow me, we could go to better place for the ritual; I can assure you that it's not time consuming or intrusive." Blake said in the group's general direction, and then began to walk to the door of the classroom.

"Please, lead the way." Nobunaga said in a very suave style while closely following the ninja themed huntress; Ranmaru and Yang closely following behind, upon reaching the door, Blake turned left and Nobunaga followed, Ranmaru was about to do the same, but Yang had another idea.

"You are coming with me!" Yang shouted while grabbing Ranmaru and going right.

"BUT MY LORD!" Ranmaru screamed to no avail, Yang was simply too strong, and there was no reason to use violence, for there was no reason to assume that the ritual could be performed in group.

"I hope you are not intending to get away from my supervision." Glynda said in a warning tone, she knew that going after the others would be counterproductive, so she settled with watching over one pair at least.

"Of course I wouldn't!" Weiss replied in fake indignation, of course the idea crossed her mind, but she was too prideful to resort to such tactics.

"If the ritual does not need to be done in privacy, why were the others taken away?" Mitsuhide asked in a very confused way, he had a suspicion that the leader of team Ruby may had developed feelings for the battle monk, but that was all.

"I… have no idea. But don't worry, they will be fine." Weiss reassured with not much confidence, she believed in Ruby's innocence, the others, not much.

"I believe in you. Now let's begin, tell me what I have to do." Mitsuhide stated, standing at attention, his posture so impressive that even Glynda had trouble to not stare at his chiseled features.

"Well, for starters… close your eyes, relax your body, and focus your mind." Weiss replied, and watched in amazement how easily Mitsuhide entered in a meditation stance. Slowly she placed her right hand over his heart and her left on his shoulder, then she focused, using her aura to reach at his soul, to awake his dormant power, once she felt it, she began the traditional incantation.

" **For it is in passing that we achieve immortality, through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to raise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."**

Mitsuhide felt the power flowing into him, and then his own essence answering the call of the white knight, it felt good, not like a surge of strength to crush his enemies, but like a warm blanket, something to tell him that he was protected. Weiss could feel the soul of the samurai, it was strong, but fluctuating, if she had to make a comparison, she would picture a river, seemingly peaceful at first glance, but still being running water, elegant, but still violence ready to be unleashed.

"That was beautiful; I could feel your soul calling mine." Mitsuhide said as he looked at the glow on his hands, even when it disappeared, he could feel the power still filling his entire being.

"Thank you for your words; you have a very strong aura." Weiss replied between pants, she silently hoped to not have blushed.

"Are you alright?" Mitsuhide asked with concern, apparently he didn't like the idea of seeing Weiss suffer.

"Unlocking someone else's aura is an ordeal, it demands a level of aura manipulation that takes a noticeable toll for the one performing the ritual; it's a temporary thing, so she'll be fine in a minute or so.

"Glad to hear that. After you are done resting, I'll help you to unleash your spirit." Mitsuhide finally said, talking to Weiss at the end.

Meanwhile…

"Unhand me already!" Ranmaru shouted for the tenth time to Yang, who was seemingly oblivious to the discomfort she was causing the poor boy, after all, being carried by a woman is certainly humiliating for any guy.

"Geez! Don't be so sensitive, cutie pie." Yang replied while putting Ranmaru down, while he came to accept that this was necessary, he didn't like to be separated from his lord, and he could only hope that the other girl had no ill intentions toward his master.

"Anyone would be sensitive for being carried in such humiliating way; also, do we really have to be so far away from my lord?" Ranmaru asked now, and Yang could only chuckle at what she assumed was jealousy.

"Don't worry, he is in good hands. Besides, if you really want to go running to you 'master' then stop struggling, I have to unlock your aura, and you have to explain this spirit thingy." Yang explained, and Ranmaru couldn't question her logic, even if he questioned her choice of location.

"Very well, but why are we in a store room?" Ranmaru asked, a little afraid of such a place, it was not a choice a fair maiden should make.

"Because we don't want any interruptions." Yang said in a teasing way; to tell the truth she was a little bit sore for all the attention she wasn't getting due to Ranmaru's beauty and cool attitude, while she wasn't a girl to go to war over such a thing, she certainly was going to put the cool beauty on her place.

"Okay… what happens now?" Ranmaru asked, still insecure about the ordeal to come, Yang's grin wasn't helping, not at all.

"That's easy, first relax, and then mirror my movements." Yang explained a little more serious now, and Ranmaru could only nod. She started by placing her left hand over his right shoulder, action that he mirrored; then she placed her right hand over his chest, as if trying to touch his heart, this made Ranmaru turn completely red.

"Y-Y-Y-ou can't expect me to do that!" Ranmaru stammered in a way that Yang qualified as too cute for her own good, although she thought it strange that the girl allowed her chest to be touched while not daring to touch another girl; she chalked it as an insecurity, after all, Yang proved her theory correct, Ranmaru was flat chested.

"Come on! Don't be like that, it's not like we are having sex, it's just part of the ritual." Yang lied to have her little revenge, she even grabbed Ranmaru's right hand and placed it on her breast, freezing the poor boy in place.

"See? Nothing is happening; we are just two straight girls enacting the aura unlocking ritual. Now close your eyes and I'll unlock your aura." Yang instructed, and Ranmaru had never been so happy for being mistaken as a girl, if everything goes well, Yang may never find out and this would be just another memory, he just had to keep his hormones in check to not squeeze the delightfully soft mound of flesh on his hand…

As Ranmaru closed his eyes, Yang began to chant the incantation while reaching for his soul with her aura; what she found surprised her, Ranmaru was violence incarnate, like a thunder storm in the horizon, thunder and lightning ready rain down without mercy, and yet as static as a lone cloud, as if waiting for the command of a superior force to begin a campaign of brutal destruction, she didn't need two guesses for who held the leash of this little monster…

"Wow, that was intense…" Yang muttered as she allowed exhaustion to kick in, leaning against Ranmaru's body for support; she already had her little revenge, showing off her well proportionate body against the flat cool beauty… then she felt that something was not quite right.

"Are you all right?" Ranmaru asked in a worried voice, mortified at having her body pressed that way against him, he had the faint hope that in her current state she wouldn't notice his perfectly understandable hormonal body response.

"Show me your left hand." Yang demanded, and Ranmaru promptly obliged, seeing that hand in the air, and still filling the other on her breast, she came to the conclusion that she was the victim of her own joke, for she was very certain that what was poking her rather sensitive part was not a part of Ranmaru's outfit.

"You… are not a girl?" Yang asked in a treacherous calm voice, and Ranmaru couldn't help but to start trembling…

Outside…

Kanetsugu had to admit that Ruby had good taste, she had guided him to one of the gardens, full of flowers of different colors, the air saturated of delicate aromas, and a gentle breeze to cares your face, a truly perfect place for meditation.

"This will be a perfect place." Ruby said, perfectly summarizing Kanetsugu's thoughts.

"Indeed, but I wonder why nobody is here." Kanetsugu stated, returning Ruby from wherever her thoughts took her to.

"Well… we are still in the middle of classes, so…" Ruby began to elaborate, awkwardly of course; Kanetsugu could only chuckle and pat her head. For Ruby, it was a gesture that she could only relate to kindness and love, it was the only gesture she remembered from her mother.

"Of course you are right! Now tell me what I need to do to awaken my aura. Then I'll teach you to unleash your spirit." Kanetsugu said, remembering Ruby that this was an assignment, and not a date; she almost blushed at such thought.

"Yeah! Right… just close your eyes, relax, and… focus." Ruby's hesitation only made her look even more cute; Kanetsugu did as told, and soon felt Ruby's hands, one on his chest, the other on his shoulder; shyly she recited the incantation, and focused her aura into reaching his soul; she found it curious, for she had been told that in this type of cases the soul was dormant, yet she found Kanetsugu's to be very aware, an orb of bright light that instantly recognized her, yet did nothing. Ruby let all thoughts aside, and proceeded as instructed, she used her aura to lightly touch Kanetsugu's soul, this was supposed to stir said soul, and help the aura to surface; instead the soul reacted by expanding by magnitudes that escaped her understanding, the little orb exploded and became a sun, she felt herself being engulfed in the bright light… and she liked it, it was warm, caring, kind; it was like bathing in sunlight in the morning, while being gently embraced, then she was back in the garden.

"Are you all right?" Kanetsugu asked, clearly worried, for she had collapsed after the ordeal; he managed to caught her in a gentle embrace, but remained ready to let her go the moment she demanded it.

"Yes, just a little tired, that's normal. You have a massive aura, and as bright as the sun!" Ruby answered, adding her own thoughts about Kanetsugu.

"That must be the radiance of the heavens, not only my little soul; and yet it only serves me to remain strong in my faith." Kanetsugu explained, trying to not allow Ruby to think that he was special.

"What faith?" Ruby asked, curiosity getting the best of her, and she had yet to tell him to let her go.

"That love is the true source of strength." Kanetsugu declared, smiling at her just as she returned the smile; suddenly she became aware of how they looked like a couple in the middle of a date; that pretty image was immediately accompanied by the image of her sister coming out of the bushes to tease them into oblivion.

"I think you should start teaching me about the spirit, you know, to report back to Miss Goodwitch… eventually?" Ruby asked, not really backing off from the embrace, but looking a little bit ashamed.

"Y-Yes, you are right! Let's sit so you can listen while you rest." Kanetsugu replied while guiding her to sit in the nearby grass, she took a lady-like sitting position, and Kanetsugu a lotus stance, they still looked as if they were dating…

On a nondescript classroom…

Both Nobunaga and Blake were at a loss, they were quite sure that Ranmaru and Yang were following them… well, they may have noticed the absence sooner if Blake wasn't making too many questions about the ninja and samurai roles…

"Well, how do we begin?" Nobunaga asked after contemplating how wrong it seemed to be alone with such a lovely lady.

"Well, the ritual is pretty simple; I just have to use my aura to touch your soul, which should be the only thing necessary to awaken your aura." Blake explained to the best of her capabilities.

"That doesn't sound simple at all; it may be either taxing to you, or hazardous to me." Nobunaga stated, it was obvious that he was fast at thinking.

"Actually, it's the former. The person unlocking the aura tends to end tired, but that's it, there is no real risk involved." Blake reassured the visionary, who nodded in acceptance.

"I see; then you may begin." Nobunaga said, ready to have his aura unlocked.

"Before we start though; I'm curious about the spirit. Will it involve a ritual to awaken it?" Blake asked now, really interested in the topic, for the idea of using an alternate version of aura was only touched in fictional stories.

"It is not about awakening it, but unleashing it. There is no ritual involved; I only have let you feel how I unleash mine, for you to have the understanding on how to unleash yours." Nobunaga explained, he was not a master on the topic, but he had a clear idea on how it worked.

"So, after I unlock your aura, you'll help me unleash my spirit." Blake stated the obvious, more to herself than to Nobunaga.

"Well… I could also try to unleash it while you unlock my aura; if the process is how I envision it, the moment you touch my soul, I could make you feel my spirit." Nobunaga proposed, and Blake's bow twitched at this; Nobunaga did not know it, but he proposed the equivalent of a kiss, on a metaphorical level.

"That may work…" Blake accepted, she had read just too many novels touching the topic of a soul kiss to let it pass; she almost felt bad for not explained the level of intimacy to the boy… almost.

"Very well; let's begin." Nobunaga replied, and began to focus his spirit; Blake took this as her signal to begin, so, she placed one hand on his chest, and the other on his shoulder, and spoke the incantation; when her aura reached for Nobunaga's soul, he pushed his spirit into her, just as he did so often with Ranmaru and Noh, and then something happened, their souls became aware of each other's, feelings were exposed naked to each other, and sensations intertwined.

Orbs of shadows began to float around them, along with wisps of black flames. Nobunaga opened his eyes to lock them with hers, and they stared into each other soul; no words were exchanged, she felt this is where she belonged, darkness embraced her, but it wasn't cold as she was told long ago, instead it was warm, welcoming, forgiving; this is where he felt complete, shadows nestling in his arms, not the treacherous type, instead it was like a sweet kitten, a beating heart hungry for forgiveness, acceptance and love, things that he'll gladly give.

Neither of them noticed the time spent in just staring into each other, feeling each other soul; but after a while, their faces began to inch closer to each other, their rational minds were screaming that this was just an unforeseen consequence of their rushed act, that they shouldn't give in; but the echoes of their souls were stronger, this was what was destined by the heavens, there was no rational need to fight it. Their faces became so close that they could feel the other's breath, only a little more and their lips will meet, sealing their fates forever; their lips ached for the other's, screaming to close the distance now, and then…

"AAWWWW, COME ON! As if you didn't enjoy it!" The door blasted open, revealing a seriously amused Yang, and a blushing Ranmaru.

"Seriously, woman…" Ranmaru's rant was cut short as he noticed the scene before them; his lord, had in his arms one Blake Belladonna, who was positively melting under the care of the visionary, their lips barely parted form each other's, in what, to both Ranmaru and Yang, looked like the aftermath of a super hot make out session.

Nobunaga and Blake stared at the new comers like a deer blinded by a car's light, unable to move away, or finish what they intended, this entire scene lasted for nearly twenty seconds, and then Ranmaru reacted, taking the handle of the door, and slowly closing it back.

"Sorry for interrupting!" Ranmaru sang these words while slowly disappearing behind the door.

"Enjoy yourselves!" Yang joined Ranmaru as she disappeared too.

It took a few more seconds, but finally Nobunaga and Blake separated from each other, awkwardly and reluctantly so.

"I'm sorry… it was not my intention to… set the mood for that…" Nobunaga awkwardly started, he didn't even know if he had done something wrong.

"I'm sorry too… I should have warned you that something like that was… possible…" Blake replied, although she had the sudden itch to go to the forums and spread the word that the fictional scenario was real, then she stopped that thought, she didn't want to be responsible for the sudden rush of marriages in the kingdom.

"I… enjoyed it." Nobunaga suddenly said, although he made no move to touch Blake.

"I enjoyed it too; but it's better if it doesn't come to be…" Blake said dejectedly, she was up for a romance, more if it made her forget about her old partner, but this guy, who had no quarry on her problems, wasn't the way to go, especially since he didn't know her true nature.

"Is there a reason not to pursue the voice of our hearts?" Nobunaga asked, throwing poetry for added effect; Blake couldn't tolerate it, she wanted that too, so she decided to get the cat out of the bag, quite literally.

"Because we are not from the same spices." Blake answered as she removed the bow from her head, revealing cat ears, which Nobunaga stared intently at.

"So… being a beautiful hanyou is supposed to scare me away? Or are you implying that I'm not good enough for you?" Nobunaga's answer threw her out of balance; there was no repulsion on those eyes, if anything, he seemed even more interested in her; maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for her to truly escape her past.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Sorry to cut it there, it was taking me forever to update, so the next chapter will have the spirit portion of the exchange.


	7. Spirit Unleashed

**Magnus:** Welcome to another chapter, here the pairings will be finally set, in case you hadn't guessed them yet, anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

 **Disclaimer:** Check the first chapter for it.

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

 **Spirit Unleashed**

Ruby watched the boy sitting in front of her, a serene expression adorning his face, his tall hat with a foreign symbol reflecting the sunlight, and above all, his own declaration of his source of strength; he was like the hero of one of the old fairy tales that she read long ago, and that she still does now days, away from her sister's eyes of course; unfortunately she was so socially awkward, that she lacked the courage to ask if he read the same stories…

"In order to unleash your spirit, you need to understand at least it's most basic aspects." Kanetsugu began his explanation earning Ruby's undivided attention.

"Is it different from aura, or the soul?" Ruby asked, just like a curious child would do.

"Yes, and no. The soul is your very essence, what you are, as such, and for I can feel and see, aura is the projection of the soul's need to protect its vessel. The spirit, it's your very nature, your inclination toward your destiny, it feeds on your actions and choices, projecting itself not as armor, but as a weapon, a sudden explosion of power that in my land we call 'Musou', this is the gift and burden I want to pass into you." Kanetsugu explained, following the teachings that had been passed to him, although by the way Ruby had tilted her head in an absolutely cute way, he may have take this challenge a little more seriously… memories of lady Aya teaching the youngest children of the clan resurfaced on his mind and heart, generating a small smile on his face.

"So, the nature is like the semblance? And what does Musu means?" Ruby asked now, and Kanetsugu could only melt at her curiosity.

"Musou can be translated in your tongue as 'unrivalled' or 'unmatched', it refers to the unique and unstoppable nature of the power it gives. As for the semblances you mention, I have very little knowledge of those; in any case, the nature of the spirit refers to the intrinsic nature of the person; the essence that prompts a person to action." Kanetsugu kept explaining to the best of his capabilities, but decided that Ruby's frown was akin to not understand a single word.

"Intrinsic?" Ruby's adorable face was enough to make the battle monk chuckle.

"Have you ever wondered why a person becomes the way he or she is? Why, no matter the upbringing of a person is, he or she ends up acting in a very specific way?" Kanetsugu asked now, making sure to sound as mysterious, as if to gain Ruby's attention even more.

"OH! Like how my sister is too bold! Or like Blake seems to be like… lonely?" Ruby asked now, finally getting a small amount of understanding.

"That's more like it! Yes, those are examples of a nature. In order to unleash your spirit, you need to first feed it, and you'll do this by being true to yourself. An honest, simple soul shouldn't have trouble feeding its spirit, unleashing it however, is key, and the key, to harness the true power we all have inside of us." Kanetsugu finished his explanation, and was pleased to see Ruby taking a thinking pose.

"So… my spirit grows stronger by me being me… I think I get that. How do I unleash it?" Ruby asked, making Kanetsugu smile at how she took his words as true, and how she just has chosen to simply believe them instead of truly trying to understand.

"In battle. Fortunately for you, our souls seem to be compatible enough for me to simply show you how to do it in a more practical way." Kanetsugu replied, and the Ruby's eyes sparkled with childish glee.

"Then let's head to the training rooms!" Ruby declared while dragging Kanetsugu to said facilities, at full speed.

Meanwhile…

Weiss was at a loss… when Mitsuhide finished his convoluted explanation of the spirit he proposed to help in unleashing hers, that was perfectly fine for the heiress, except that he couldn't do it through a ritual like the unlocking of aura, instead, only through fighting it would be done. There were a few things that were fine for Weiss, like how Mitsuhide asked to start with very friendly spar, with slow moves to let her see his style, to which she answered with a show of her own moves; but then he began to speed up, slowly of course, but it soon reached the point where the heiress could barely block or evade…

"Hmmm… your defense is not bad, we can work on making it better; how do you feel?" Mitsuhide started a conversation, marking a small break in the spar, to which Weiss was more than grateful.

"To be honest, scared. The way you move, the way you fight… I'm surprised you weren't advanced even two years ahead!" Weiss decided to be honest, so far the samurai had been nothing but helpful and a very nice company.

"I'll be advanced when the time is right, not after or before; besides, I was asking for your spirit, and I doubt that your nature is being fearful." Mitsuhide explained his question, and it took about a minute for Weiss to stop sputtering incoherently to form a proper answer, that Glynda chuckled at the polite, yet very insulting, comment didn't help the heiress.

"I'm telling you! I'm the prideful heiress of the Schnee dust company, I was trained by the best of Atlas' tutors in both combats and politics, and I'm a true huntress in training who strives for perfection in everything that there is to be." Weiss repeated as if those lines had been drilled into her for a very long time.

"Tell me then, why do you fight? Why do you even lift your weapon for?" Mitsuhide asked in a serious tone that surprised both Glynda and Weiss.

"I…" Weiss tried to reply, but was immediately interrupted.

"Be honest." Mitsuhide sounded as if giving a warning, if a friendly one. It took Weiss several minutes to answer, for it was hard for her to do so, more so because the only good teacher she had met so far was listening far too intently.

"I… Fight for myself…" The moment Weiss spoke these words was the moment Glynda made a face of sorrow; she knew by heart that most students answer this question with words fitting for a hero, or a leader, someone worth of praise, and she knew that only one in a thousand spoke these words with sincerity; however, Weiss was far from done, once she started to open her heart, she had to let it all out.

"I fight to prove that I can stand by myself, that I can be strong to fight for my own belief, that only I have the reins of my life. So when my father comes to demand that I take his place, I'll be able to tell him NO." Weiss finally completed her response, and she felt… liberated. Glynda looked at her with respect, for she understood the enormity of what she wanted.

"Well said, Weiss! Now, I want you to strike with the sole purpose of fulfilling your desire, feed your strength with the echoes of your heart, and when you can no longer add more fire to the pyre of your will, then let it go." Mitsuhide stated in what Weiss considered a mystic and romantic way, of course she remembered the purpose of the entire ordeal, so, she raised her rapier once more; she found it funny, though, how Mirtenaster seemed to weigh less than a minute ago…

As the sparring re-started, Weiss allowed Mitsuhide's words to sink in, she started to fight in accordance to her own heart, and not the designs of somebody else; with each stroke, another step to her goal, with each slash, one less obstacle to her freedom; she stopped caring that Mitsuhide was blocking each and every one of her attacks, she stopped caring about perfect stances and well calculated moves, and then, she felt her heart singing in freedom.

"What in the world!" Glynda could only whisper her amazement, Weiss 'aura bar' began to glitch, showing unreadable data about her power, then she noticed that Weiss herself was shimmering, and her rapier was encasing in ice.

"Now! Embrace yourself, and let it go!" Mitsuhide commanded in a way that Weiss found irresistible, and in a mere instant, all of her bottled up emotions, her pent up frustration and need of freedom, was released.

Glynda watched in a mixture of worry, amazement and fear how the heiress became an icy blue blur, her attacks becoming both beautiful and unstoppable; then her worry became horror when she noticed how Mitsuhide was now unable to defend himself against the beautiful onslaught that Weiss was unleashing on him. And then, just as fast as it started, it was over; Weiss was standing there, panting after fighting like never before, just like the full fledged huntsmen and huntresses; and Mitsuhide was face down in the floor, parts of his armor covered in ice. Glynda quickly looked at the aura reading, and found comfort in seeing that, while now in the red, it was not completely depleted, meaning that the young samurai was still well alive.

"Mitsuhide!" Weiss screamed after seeing the result of her spirit being unleashed, obviously scared at the idea of hurting the one that had helped her the most.

"That was a good one. You really have potential." Mitsuhide stated while standing up, showing just how resilient he was.

"You scared me! For a moment I thought I had killed you!" Weiss shouted in an outraged fashion that did nothing to conceal her worry. In the background Glynda couldn't help but to take note in the massive increase in power, if it was that massive on mere first year students, then in a fully fledged hunter it would grant power equivalent to the guardians, if only briefly.

At the same time, at one of the training facilities…

Ruby and Kanetsugu were fighting against a large group of training robots designed to imitate the behavior of both the bewolves and the ursai; Kanetsugu praised Ruby's great agility and control over her complicated weapon, while Ruby was amazed over Kanetsugu's sword technique and usage of paper charms to frightening efficiency. Even when the battle was not difficult or really long, Ruby found easy to put Kanetsugu's words to practice, every strike was a wound inflicted upon the darkness, with every fallen foe, another child would smile again, and every small victory against the grimm was another step to a better world for everyone; so it was not surprising that instead of getting tired, she was getting more fired up, and soon Kanetsugu found that she was ready.

"Now open your heart, Ruby! We are going to strike as one with our spirits unleashed!" Kanetsugu shouted, reaching toward the red caped girl with both his spirit and his aura, to which said girl seemed to reciprocate in kind.

"I can feel it! Your soul and mine are touching!" Ruby replied while cleaving another robot, if this was the so called spirit, she was loving it.

"Justice is my sword! Love gives me the strength! Radiance of the heavens clear the way!" Kanetsugu shouted while unleashing his spirit, forcing Ruby's spirit to react with him; His sword elongated with pure solidified light, and Ruby's scythe vibrated with bestial force; he danced in circles, shredding everything in his path, while Ruby began to dash from one side to the other, dragging Crescent Rose to slice all that stood on her path; then she felt the last bit of her explosion reaching the final point, and she pushed it further, she wanted to give the last fraction of this exhilarating feeling an extra boom, and then something went… different.

"What?!" Ruby quietly exclaimed, for she suddenly felt sluggish, not weak, but as if the air itself was putting almost as much resistance as if going through water, she found difficult to move her weapon, and even the large robot in front of her seemed to stop as if seeing that she wasn't able to continue. Ruby of course felt the need to at least do one final attack, and swung her weapon against the robot; and then the weirdest thing happened, the edge of her scythe passed through the robot as if he wasn't even there, well, it still had the same resistance that the air was posing, but still, no apparent damage was done to the still unmoving robot.

"What in the world?" Ruby muttered as she tried to attack again from a different angle, earning the same result, angry at this, she swung Crescent Rose five more times in different angles; frustrated at doing nothing, she tried to leap toward another of the larger robots, and found that not only the air slowed her leap, but also the time she spent without touching the ground; once she fell in front of the new unmoving target she repeated the process, slashing the robot another seven times, again without doing nothing, the edge passed through the whole thing with no apparent resistance, but without effect, it was here that she decided to turn to Kanetsugu to ask what was happening, what she saw stunned her.

Kanetsugu was standing still, his sword stabbed into the ground, his free hand extended in front of him, several paper charms were floating around him and the robots surrounding him; the paper charms were moving at a lazy speed, what appeared to be bullets of light were jumping between the charms at speeds that Ruby could barely track, piercing the robots that were in their way. Ruby took a moment to let this sink, for even she comprehended that she was seeing something that she wasn't supposed to be able to see, once she began to digest this, she looked at her first target, just in time to see that her first slash had indeed connected, and the robot was now, very slowly, separating from the waist up… then the sense of sluggishness left her body, and everything around her sped up in an instant; her two targets where reduced to ribbons in a blink of an eye, just as Kanetsugu's charms returned to him after finishing obliterating everything around him, Ruby could only react in one way…

"That… was awesome!" Ruby shouted as she tried to jump to Kanetsugu's arms in a childish fit of joy, unfortunately her body decided that it was a good moment to show the effect of putting such strain on her muscles by making her legs feel like jelly, making her fall forward.

"Ruby!" Kanetsugu could barely catch her in time to prevent her from falling face first, of course this had the unintended effect of placing Ruby exactly where she wanted to be…

Just outside the training room…

Yang and Ranmaru were at a loss, they were supposed to ask Nobunaga about unleashing the spirit, but since he was 'busy' with one Blake Belladonna, both decided to bother Kanetsugu; for Ranmaru it was a wise choice, since he is an expert on the topic, for Yang, it was overprotective nature what was driving her, of course both were disappointed when they couldn't find the cheerful pair neither in the gardens or the food court, so, they decided to go to the training facilities to begin an attempt on their own.

"I'm pretty certain it shouldn't be that hard, I mean, you said I just need to be true to myself, and as a thrill seeker, I'm always true to myself." Yang reassured, for she saw that Ranmaru was hesitant to do this attempt unsupervised.

"I still believe you need something else, if you were so true to yourself, then you should have unleashed your spirit long ago."Ranmaru replied, although he saw no harm in giving a demonstration of the procedure, if only to prove his point, and if it was the last push for the bold blonde, then that was good too.

"Maybe I just need you to introduce that knowledge into me?" Yang asked in a very sensual way, making Ranmaru blush, but not look away, he had learned that relenting in this kind of situation would only lead to even more teasing.

"You have no idea what you are asking for…" Ranmaru began to build up his rant as he reached for the handle of the door to the training room, but was cut short by the voices that were heard from behind it.

"I can't believe my first time would be SO intense!" A childish female voice that obviously belonged to Ruby put them on edge, the wording used was too shocking for any of them to form any reply.

"I'm so glad to find that you enjoyed it; although I'm shocked you were able to handle it so well despite being so young." Kanetsugu's voice followed, and this forced Yang to reach for the handle, ready to punch first and ask later, if at all; of course Ranmaru sensed her intentions, so he caught her hand, stopping her for her current path.

"They must be speaking about unleashing the spirit, it is an exhilarating feeling the first time one does so; remember that he is a monk, not a hormonal teenager." Ranmaru quickly explained, and while Yang glared at him for a moment, she seemed to accept that perhaps she was being too hasty in judging things.

"My legs feel like jelly though; is it normal?" Ruby's question forced them to look at the door with faces of shock and disbelief; once again the wording seemed off.

"Well, you certainly didn't want to slow down." Kanetsugu's answer only made things worse, Yang's hands were shaking, her mind obviously conjuring images about activities she considered unsuited for her innocent little sister; Ranmaru's hand held hers, as if trying to calm her down, although he lacked any words to discourage her train of thoughts.

"I think that my favorite part was when you poured all your strength inside of me!" Ruby's words certainly didn't help the situation, at all; Yang's eyes turning red certainly proved this theory, and Ranmaru certainly wasn't going to say anything this time, even he doubted the purity of the battle monk this time.

"I must admit that it was a pleasant and deep connection that we reached this time; and if you feel the need to repeat it, well…" That was as far as Yang could tolerate, she reached for the handle of the door, and broke it as she tore the entire door from its hinges, stomping her way inside the room still wielding the reinforced steel door like a light weight shield, interrupting Kanetsugu in the process.

"Well, well, what little mess do we have here, little sister?" Yang spoke in an eerie cheerful voice, thankfully the sense of danger died very quickly, for as she took a look at the couple, she noticed that they were fully dressed, not touching, and the only mess in the room were the broken bodies of the robots.

"Yang, what are you doing here?" Ruby asked, oblivious to the entire situation fabricated on her sister's mind; Yang for her part could not form any kind of reply, at most her eyes returned to her usual cerulean shade.

"Oh, we were just informed by the staff that you were here, and I thought that following Kanetsugu's example, I could help your sister to unleash her spirit. I think it worked for you, if the level of destruction is any indication." Ranmaru replied for Yang, saving her from a very awkward situation.

"It indeed was a success; she even discovered her finishing stance!" Kanetsugu happily reported, unaware of the danger he was until a few seconds ago.

"Then congratulations are in order, for that it's a feat not many can boast about." Ranmaru praised the leader of team RWBY, who gave a squeal of happiness in return, causing Yang to cast down her eyes, ashamed of her own thoughts.

"Well, I believe that we must vacate the area now, you'll need the space to work, and I have to take Ruby to a place she can rest." Kanetsugu stated, in such a well mannered voice that it left no room to misinterpret it as something else than good intentions.

"I'll need some help though." Ruby said in a very shy and childish voice, making Kanetsugu chuckle as he lifted her bridal style to take her away; as the pair left the room, Yang turned to face Ranmaru with apologetic eyes, but the apology couldn't leave her lips, for Ranmaru had very evil glint on his eyes.

"Well, I believe we have found your true nature; you are filled with rage." Ranmaru declared with a smile that was undoubtly filled with malice, this cause Yang to let go of the door she was still holding, making a really loud thud as it impacted the ground.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Yang said as she turned away, she didn't want to admit it, but the feeling of excitement she felt as a thrill seeker more often than not was tied to fight with others; Ranmaru for his part decided to have a little bit of revenge for Yang's treatment when she unlocked his aura, so he hugged her from behind, making her go stiff at the moment of contact, it was not improper, yet, but very suggestive, more now that she knew of his true nature.

"Are you going to tell me that your hands are not demanding you to be used? That your chest is not burning with intense desire for action? That your eyes are not looking for something to set you off?" Ranmaru said to her ear, all the while slowly pushing her to the nearest wall, hit his upper body and not his lower one; it still looked dangerously suggestive, but when they reached the wall, and when she felt the truth of his words, she decided to return fire, and not give up her self created illusion of not being a berserker; she slowly turned in his arms to face him, hugging him back, making use of the fact that he was a whole inch smaller than her.

"Oh, I don't know cutiepie. Are you sure you can take all I can give?" Yang asked while pushing him with her lower body, making him blush, but not relent, she just loved to tease him, more with the knowledge that even when he would understand her words, he wouldn't jump at the chance; then both of them heard something metallic hitting the floor, and turned in the direction of the sound, just to find the entire team CRDL looking at them with wide eyes and jaws dropped, with weapons on the floor.

"What?" Both Ranmaru and Yang asked at the same time in a very unfriendly way, although it was mostly out of shame for being caught in such an awkward position.

"Nothing!" The four guys shouted and retreated as fast as they could, their weapons forgotten in the ground due to the shock.

"People are going to talk about us tomorrow, aren't they?" Ranmaru asked in a resigned tone that denoted a certain amount of regret.

"I don't think we'll have to wait for tomorrow… sorry." Yang replied, knowing that she was the one to blame, but really, she couldn't help herself, the poor guy was a formidable fountain of teasing material she just couldn't pass.

"We better get to the training." Ranmaru suddenly said, letting go of Yang, however the blonde brawler didn't, for she felt the boy's body reacting, again; she suddenly decided that if people were going to talk about them, then they should give them reason to do so.

Nondescript classroom…

They had decided to give some time for the link to dissipate, for they didn't want to start a relationship out of an unexpected reaction, if there was going to be something between them, it had to be cemented on a solid understanding of each other, so they decided to avoid contact for the rest of the week, and then have a meeting to discuss the topic further, that was the rational thing to do, it was smart and logic… and they didn't like it one bit.

"So… what is a hanyou?" Blake asked, not as a real question, but as a way to distract herself of the unshakeable feeling of incompleteness she had for being away from Nobunaga's arms.

"Well, they look like humans, but with animal traits, like ears and tail, and have great spiritual power." Nobunaga replied; he was grateful for the distraction, as it prevented him from grabbing some of Blake's silky hair to try to bask in its scent.

"I see, so it's your word for faunus. I take it my kind is not common in your homeland?" Blake asked now, she already knew the answer, but if she didn't set the mood for something more academic, she would be the one to fall first to the embrace of the darkness that was already calling for her.

"I believe so, although you'll have to ask Kanetsugu about details, as I'm not an expert on such things. May I ask why did you put your bow on? I think you are more beautiful without it." Nobunaga's question threw Blake off balance, again, making her heart ache in need of more attention and acceptance.

"Because most of the other students are not as welcoming as you are. In fact, I need to ask you to not revel to the others about my nature as a faunus." Blake's answer puzzled Nobunaga; while he could understand that she didn't want to be subjected to the discrimination that her kind suffered, he thought this to be too extreme.

"Not even your team?" Nobunaga asked with unmasked concern, he was sure that to keep the unity of the team, such secrets should not be maintained.

"I… I'll tell them when I'm ready, I promise." Blake answered in an attempt to finish that line of conversation, and while Nobunaga didn't seem to be convinced, he relented.

"Very well, but know that I'll be there for you when the time comes." Nobunaga offered, and it took all of Blake's willpower to not hug him, which was a good thing, for Glynda entered the classroom in that moment.

"Ah! There you are. Did the proceedings go well?" Glynda asked in a neutral way that hinted to her not have crossed paths with Ranmaru and Yang, to which both Nobunaga and Blake were grateful for.

"Of course. Nobunaga's aura has been successfully unlocked, and he helped me to unleash my spirit; I must admit that it was a very interesting experience, the boost on power will be much appreciated." Blake reported in an all business way, to which Glynda seemed to take notes.

"And I must say that the protection provided by the aura will aid greatly in combat; I can't thank you enough for sharing this treasure with me and my people." Nobunaga's words sounded so sincere and real that they seemed to melt the combat instructor's heart.

"And I can't thank you enough, even in name of the kingdom, for sharing the teachings of the spirit with us, even if it's in a limited number of students; anyway, mister Akechi and miss Schnee are waiting for you at the cafeteria, although I need to hold miss Belladonna for a moment, as I have to ask her a few questions about the proceedings, to fill the appropriate report, of course." Glynda's petition was reasonable enough to not say no, but it scared Blake to not end, she wasn't sure what Mitsuhide and Weiss did, but she was certain that a soul kiss was not in that report.

"If you need it, I can stay too, as my input can certainly help to gather the information that you want." Nobunaga offered, lifting a very heavy weight from Blake's shoulders.

"That won't be necessary, in fact, I insist in you going to meet your teammate; Miss Belladonna and I won't take too long." Glynda's rebuttal only hinted to trouble in the horizon for the broody cat girl.

Headmaster's office, after school hours…

Ozpin was a man that prided himself for his absolute control over everything, his wisdom gave him voice in the council, his benevolence gave him the trust of his students and staff, and his experience gave him the loyalty of all the hunters of the kingdom; so he knew that gaining a new teaching, and hence a new source of power for his people, was something to be happy about, and yet he couldn't help but to be unsettled. He watched and re-watched the footage of the proceedings of the four pairs, the unlocking of auras was very enlightening; Mitsuhide and Ranmaru showing readings above average, Nobunaga showing a very unusual type of aura, and Kanetsugu blowing all records away, that guy alone could be considered a living weapon by himself; the unleashing of spirits was a little more worrisome, Blake and Weiss showed a boost in power large enough to push the issue of teaching it to every student, although the reveal of their true nature was not very welcomed, Weiss was less than stellar when confronted, her rather selfish motivations could spill trouble in the future; Blake seemed more tame, her main motivation could be considered that of peaceful coexistence between species, which was very much welcome in the eyes of the headmaster; Ruby looked promising, her naïve and childish view of the world, along with her pure motivations, portrayed her as just what he needed, that her combat prowess had just elevated to the level of legendary heroes only made it all the better, he held no hopes of controlling her or Kanetsugu, their morals were set in stone, and their will was truly unbreakable, but they could be easily directed for the greater good.

Yang and Ranmaru though, were truly disturbing; not only they showed monstrous power, but also blatantly declared their abominable nature, blood thirsty beasts of war, armed with the strength to obliterate military grade combat robots with eerie easiness was never a good combination. At least Ranmaru had a tight leash holding him, even if it was not in the wise hands of the headmaster; Yang, Ozpin decided, would need to be chained properly, and have someone watching her at all times, least she bites the hand that feeds her. For the moment, Ozpin decided to watch these teams full time, the power granted by the spirit was a great boon that he needed to ensure for the kingdom, sharing it with the others was going to wait a very long time, for he had to agree with Kanetsugu; not everyone should be allowed to have access to such power, just a few select ones, especially if they coincided with his view of the world and the greater good.

* * *

 **Magnus:** I hope you like where this is going, and yes, I'm about to touch team JNPR development, see ya in next chapter!


	8. A New Vision

**Magnus:** Sorry for the delay, but with the festivities, and the loss of a family member, I wasn't able to sit and write as I wanted. I'll try to update sooner, meanwhile, enjoy.

 **Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 (Does anyone read these anyway?)

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

 **A new vision.**

For a whole week Ozpin made sure to keep a close eye on teams RWBY and NKRA, taking extensive notes on behaviors and interactions, on potential and capacity, on potential as both assets and dangers… He was not as pleased as he wanted to be.

Ruby and Kanetsugu seemed to be trapped in a curious loop of childish love and care for each other, they showed all the hints of a crush for each other, with a high potential for romance, if only they could see that. If a Grimm invasion occurred, the headmaster knew that he only had to point the general direction of said event for these two to jump at the chance and clean up the mess, ordering them to do anything different from the morally correct was out of question though, perfect material for guardians, but not suitable for leaders of the future.

Weiss and Mitsuhide was a more serious pair, almost every day they had spent at least an hour discussing politics and customs of the different kingdoms, and at least one hour practicing their swordplay. The headmaster idly noticed that the heiress was growing fond of the samurai, while said boy seemed hell bent in helping her to become better in any way possible, outside these events though, there was little of note; Weiss attitude toward Ruby has improved, but it was still far from ideal, while Mitsuhide seemed to be always glaring at Nobunaga for some reason, although there had to be any sign of violence between the two… the headmaster chalked it to Ranmaru's constant presence within Nobunaga's reach, but still took note of a possible leverage to use in the future.

Yang and Ranmaru… The headmaster couldn't help but to rub the bridge of his nose at the thought of these two… As fun as it was to watch the chaos and confusion their interaction caused, thinking on their future was beyond a migraine. He knew that Yang would be troublesome, Qrow had made that very clear; anything was a valid reason for a fight, having fun was what she wanted, and if it was fun through violence, the better; the only thing stopping her from becoming a true berserk was the existence of her little sister, which gave her some degree of sanity, she needed a leash, least she becomes like her mother, one Raven was enough to give him nightmares, a second one was something he wouldn't allow. Ranmaru was an incident waiting to happen, as much as he laughed at the 'lesbians' rumor, or the constant declarations of love from the non-faunus males, Ozpin knew that the only reason nobody has been killed yet was because Nobunaga kept Ranmaru from doing so. All of this led to an incredibly scary thought, Ranmaru and Yang were doing almost nothing to stop the thought of starting a relationship, and while a lover could help on chaining Yang, what could 'Rage Incarnate' learn from 'Violence given Flesh'? Even worse, what kind of children could come out of that?

Blake and Nobunaga were a rare thing to watch, they seemed to dance around each other in a fruitless attempt to not touch; the headmaster couldn't help but to notice the sexual tension growing incredible fast between them, it was a miracle that miss Belladonna hadn't jumped him by now… On the other hand, maybe that was what he needed to have some control over the visionary; he had everything needed to become a natural leader of the kingdom, from the brains to the charisma, from the vision to the lack of remorse to carry it; the lack of moves to gather the attention from the rest of the students was not reassuring, not at all, for it showed that the manipulative bastard was calculating every angle and every possibility before starting a campaign of his own. Ozpin wisely decided to stop his train of thought, as much as he hated the visionary, there had to be any evidence of him being an enemy, so, he forced himself to believe that until Nobunaga proved otherwise, he was a possible piece for the events to come… He just hoped that if proved otherwise, there was a chance to remove him.

A sudden ping from his desk brought back the headmaster to the present, as usual, teams RWBY and NKRA shared the same class, it was the last class of the day, and thus, the start of the weekend and it just happen to be a sparring match…

"Let's see if you show me something new." Ozpin said while taking a sip from his always present mug, he didn't know that he was going to get more fuel for nightmares…

Combat arena…

Glynda Goodwitch has never enjoyed her classes as much as she had this year, team NKRA was doing a wonderful job introducing the combat doctrine of Edo to this new generation; it was the mixture of cordial and well mannered way of treating the opponents, mixed with the very disciplined and merciless combat matches that hinted to an even more prestigious name for the academy in the future, that team RWBY quickly began to imitate this behavior only helped to this end, so it was with barely contained glee that she started her class.

"Very well, students, this is the last class of the day, and of course, of the week; so don't let that thought of false freedom to cloud you judgment and performance, least you spend the next two days in the infirmary. That being said, do we have any volunteers?" Glynda asked after her warning, truly expecting anyone from her two favorite teams to offer, for good or ill, someone shot out his hand immediately.

"I will, professor!" Cardin Winchester raised his hand, he was one of the guys who suffered the most after the 'lesbians' incident, and he wanted to vent out some frustration, and if possible, start a half planed attempt on his crush.

"Very well, mister Winchester, come to the arena, and be prepared." Glynda replied, knowing that at least there was some fire in other students besides her favored ones, only time will tell if that fire was destined to shine or not.

Cardin walked to the arena with the head held high, purposely posing for all the females to watch, much to his dismay he found that his target was not only not watching him, but exchanging turns between paying attention to the blonde bombshell and the guy with the pineapple hairstyle; now he knew what he had to do…

"Now, mister Winchester, would you issue a challenge, or do I have to select your match?" Glynda asked while already thinking in possible matches, Cardin didn't make her wait.

"I wish to challenge Ranmaru Mori." Cardin said loud enough to be clearly heard by everyone, his voice was not the usual mocking tone, in fact he sounded serious and respectful; his plan was simple, to let his desired woman to feel the strength of his body in a very close and personal way, so she would stop being seduced by the blonde bombshell, and finally be separated from the tribal guy.

On his seat, Ranmaru was almost jumping in joy, finally a fool had challenged him, that meant a golden opportunity to unleash some violence, of course he doubted that the boy could survive a full assault, and his lord had ordered him to not kill any other student until ordered otherwise, but certainly that wouldn't extent to taking a limb or two, right? Ranmaru looked at Nobunaga for permission, and when the warlord slightly shook his head, he knew what answer to give.

"I refuse." Ranmaru answered with a mild smile on his face, as much as he wanted to have some fun, obedience was first, that, and he wouldn't dare to negatively interfere with the plans of his master.

"Very well, mister Winchester will have to challenge someone else or let fate select his sparring partner." Glynda said with some relief, the gleam on Ranmaru's eyes had led her to believe that he wanted some righteous retribution against the one that started the whole 'lesbians' rumor, she wasn't ready to have to fill the first incident report of the year so soon.

"Hey! Pineapple head! Let her decide for herself!" Cardin was incensed, and admittedly jealous, the tribal guy had a level of control over the beauty of his dreams that only he should have, and he planned to rectify that.

"Is that a challenge?" Nobunaga asked from his seat, at his side Ranmaru was gritting his teeth in rage at the casual insult thrown at his lord; that and being called a girl, again, just added to the need to unleash some violence.

"Is it?" Glynda asked too, silently questioning the sanity of the tall boy; she also wondered if Cardin didn't pay attention to the brutal fight between Nobunaga and Mitsuhide some days ago.

"YES!" Cardin replied without thinking, he just wanted his last shot at the cool beauty before moving onto the next sexy girl in the list.

"Since you seem so ill intended to fight someone from my team, I feel that I have to answer your call, mister Winchester." Nobunaga replied with a rather unreadable expression, walking to the arena in the same way he did before, leaving behind a slightly pouting Ranmaru. Glynda felt the need to stop the match even before it started, for she really didn't want to write a formal apology to the Winchester family, unfortunately, the rules were set in a way that the only one who could have save Cardin was Cardin himself.

"Do not worry, sensei; I have enough self-restrain to not go beyond the socially accepted." Nobunaga stated once he reached the arena, but it was hardly reassuring to the combat instructor.

"Gentlemen, remember the rules, and fight well." Glynda stated, and the battle begun.

"After I'm done with you the ladies…" Cardin began some banter while lifting his mace for an overhead smash, unfortunately for him, Nobunaga already made a thrust attack, hitting him square in the chest, sending him a few feet away, landing on his back; the fact that the young visionary hadn't used the darkness to coat his sword didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the students, neither that the aura bar of the resident bully had taken a third of its length down.

"I'm sorry, Winchester; I thought that, since you had the time to talk, you were skilled enough for a more serious fight. Or perhaps you expected me to wait until you finished?" Nobunaga's words struck Cardin even harder than the blow that sent him down, this was supposed to be his moment to humiliate the tribal, not the other way around.

"It won't happen again." Cardin said as he stood up, taking a more serious posture.

"Of course it won't." Nobunaga replied with a smug smile, he made it clear that he wasn't acknowledging Cardin's seriousness.

Cardin charged at Nobunaga full intent on finish him as quickly as possible, but as soon as he was within reach, he found that Nobunaga's style was leagues beyond his; while Cardin swung his mace with great strength, Nobunaga simple moved his sword with speed and grace, it was humiliating, because for every swing of his mace, Nobunaga simply blocked or parried away, and then simply slapped him; then Cardin finally roared in rage, and swung wildly against the visionary, and in a single move Nobunaga disarmed him, and slashed his neck with enough force to make Cardin flip and fall away; all the students winced at this move, especially when they saw that Cardin's aura was at a single point from hitting the red.

"Oh god… did he just… try to…" Cardin muttered in horror as he tried to stand up, rubbing his neck as if doubting his own survival; he was still wondering why the combat instructor hadn't called the match already, she surely had to have noticed that the tribal was crazy, then he noticed that his mace came sliding to his side, obviously being kicked by his rival, and when he looked at the eyes of the visionary, he saw it, the glint of madness, of an ambition that threatened to consume everything in the world, something villainous…

"Grab your weapon, Winchester; the match is not over, and you have yet to show what you are made of." Nobunaga challenged in a very menacing voice that almost hinted to mean about showing his innards, and not his courage and skill; Cardin looked at his weapon, and decided that surviving was more acceptable than dying a hero.

"I yield!" Cardin nearly shouted, to his credit, he did it without crying.

"Then the match is over, and Nobunaga Oda is the winner. Now return to your seats, for we still have time for another match." Glynda called and both warriors obliged.

On her seat, Blake kept her eyes focused on the visionary the entire time; the lure of the dark, that warm embrace, it only grew stronger, and seeing him in combat did not help at all; she knew he had the power to crush Cardin, so much indeed, that she knew that if he had wanted it, Cardin would have died on the first blow, also he was smart enough to get away with it, for he could have called it a 'mishap', but he showed restrain, not mercy, power, but not brute force; she wanted that, she wanted him, and as he locked eyes with her while reaching for his seat, she knew that he felt the same.

"Did my performance please you?" Nobunaga softly asked as he reached his seat just above her, her answer was a low purr that actually sounded inviting, the fact that a well known faunus hater had been humiliated seemed to enhance the feeling.

"Oh ho! Do we need to leave the dorm room for you two tonight?" Yang was quick to intervene, remembering the two that they were still in the middle of class.

"EWWWWWW! Stop it already sis!" Ruby was also quick to try to diffuse the situation, but it only worsened it. Blake immediately turned red, and tried to hide behind a book, failing miserably because she held it upside down, while Nobunaga tried to find some kind of support on his closest friend, just to find Ranmaru giving him a thumb up at the idea of becoming intimate with the cat girl.

"AHEM! Since we had the first round with volunteers, the next one will be decided by fate, once the monitor stop the rotation, the two students showed please step into the arena." Glynda called, stopping the storm brewing on the closeness of the students, much to the relief of some, and the annoyance of others. The monitor soon stopped, and showed two unlikely faces: Jaune Arc and Kanetsugu Naoe.

"Well, it seems the heavens finally it is time for me to fight." Kanetsugu said as he began to leave his seat.

"Please be gentle!" Ruby shouted to the battle monk, obviously worried for the safety of the blond guy.

"Don't worry, Ruby; it is a sparring match, we are going to learn from each other, not try to harm us mutually." Kanetsugu replied with a gentle smile, but while it brought a smile of relief on the red caped scythe wielder, it did nothing to ease Glynda's mind; footage of the Fafnir being obliterated by the white clad warrior of love kept replaying on her head, quickly replaced by bloody remains of the very inexperienced Arc boy… maybe she will end writing that apology after all…

"Help." Jaune muttered as he left his seat, while he hadn't seen Kanetsugu in action, he was pretty certain that a painful beating was what awaited him in the arena, at the hands of his very first friend no less, what a way to end the first week of classes.

"Calm down Jaune; it's a sparring session, and nobody is going to take it hard on you if you lose." Phyrra tried to sound convincing, unfortunately she had come to know that Jaune was not exactly well suited for combat.

"YEAH! I mean, you saw his buddies being all badasses in a duel, it's not like we expect this to be different." Nora supplied in a very un-helpful way.

"Just go, and try to learn." Ren finally said in his characteristic stoic voice, and Jaune entertained the idea of yielding from the very beginning, he decided against it in the end, if he loses, at most he will be laughed at, if he yielded, his entire team would be the target… he knew what to do…

"You seem nervous, Jaune." Kanetsugu commented as the blonde boy reached the arena, the fact that said boy was trembling only accentuated the statement.

"Well, I'm not used to duels, Kanetsugu; and after seeing your teammates I kind of fear for my health." Jaune replied honestly, although low enough to not being heard by the rest of the students.

"Then let's use this time to rectify that, my friend! I'm sure everyone agrees that fighting beasts is not the same as fighting persons." Kanetsugu answered in a very loud voice, although the truth on his words was enough to put everyone in a rare state of awareness, as if he had said something that had been overlooked for too long and still rang true every day.

"Ah… ok, how do we start?" Jaune asked, a little bit grateful at the helpfulness of his first friend.

"That's simple, no warrior should go into a fight outside of a defensive stance, let's see how do you stand!" Kanetsugu stated, and Jaune quickly put his shield in front, with the sword at the ready; Kanetsugu quickly advanced with his own sword at the ready, and made a motion as if preparing an overhead cut; Jaune responded by lifting his shield in a hurried way, but soon found that Kanetsugu had grabbed the edge of the shield, and pushed it to the side, just to deliver a hit to his head with the flat side of his blade.

"Ouch!" Jaune, and half of the other students flinched at the hit, most understood the lesson immediately, and by now, much to her shame, Glynda noticed that she had yet to call the match to start, she decided to not intervene though, and instead began to take notes, Kanetsugu was doing a fantastic job as a combat instructor.

"That was a common mistake; against a beast it's a good move, as it allows you to firmly stand your ground against superior weight, against a person, it only gives a notorious opportunity to slip beneath your guard." As Kanetsugu explained, voices began to discuss possible strategies and changes in current styles, the sounds of scribbling were also constant.

"So what? I have to raise my shield at the very last moment?" Jaune asked in a mix of seriousness and worry, he sincerely doubted he could do so.

"As ideal as that is, I don't think you are ready for such an advanced technique; no, in your case you should try to first act on instinct, and then refine your timing as you have more practice." Kanetsugu answered with such a wise voice that everyone was now paying attention to him.

"React by instinct, not by fear." Jaune said as he took the lesson for himself, earning a nod from the battle monk.

"Very good! Now let's do it again." Kanetsugu commanded, and as he began to deliver his strikes, Jaune began to block them, and while he lacked style and screamed like a little girl at times, no one could deny that he was actually blocking everything, even Glynda began to see a little bit of promise on the blonde.

"Hey! That actually worked!" Jaune exclaimed after he finished blocking, just for Kanetsugu to hit his head with the flat of his blade.

"Do not get distracted! In a duel you cannot expect any mercy or respite." Kanetsugu reprimanded, earning questioning faces from many students, but a knowing smile from the combat instructor.

"Not even when offered?" Jaune asked like many novices have done before him.

"Especially if offered. You can't hope to know or understand the mind and heart of your foe; an extended hand, if taken, could lead to your demise, or the demise of those you raise your shield for." Kanetsugu's words, while harsh, were true, and they struck deep within the minds of the students; Glynda could imagine the headmaster throwing a fit at this lesson, for he insisted on it being taught in the last semester, not this early; such thought brought a smile to her face, for the first time her class was going as she wanted.

"Ok… never trust your opponent until the match is over." Jaune simplified the lesson, earning another nod from the white clad warrior.

"Good, very good. Now let's speed up so we can see how good your reflexes under some pressure are!" Kanetsugu stated as he began his assault, this time Jaune's screams were more the result of some hits landing as he had trouble to move his shield all the way from the higher end of his body to his lower one, and while there was no harm done, he certainly was not very grateful.

"OW! OW! OW! THAT HURTS!" Jaune shouted in pain as he found his head and legs being the target of some hurtful hits.

"Hmmmm… the reflexes are there, your speed isn't half bad… perhaps a change in posture?" Kanetsugu wondered aloud, earning thoughtful poses from half of the students.

"You mean like a crouch?" Jaune asked back, hoping to avoid any more pain in the near future, like in the next assault that he knew was coming.

"I was thinking more in a half crouch, you still need some mobility after all." Kanetsugu replied, and Jaune immediately changed his posture, he looked even more fearful than before, but he actually felt safer by being a smaller target. Soon the assault started again, and while Jaune still cried and yelped, he managed to block everything in a very obviously non miraculous way; from her viewpoint Glynda began to entertain ideas of writing a book based on Kanetsugu's style of teaching, and make it mandatory for the combat schools around the kingdom.

"Jaune, are you comfortable in that stance?" Kanetsugu asked after he finished his assault, sounded a little bit concerned for the blonde, among the students, only Phyrra understood the reason.

"Well, no. But at least I'm not hurting all over." Jaune answered from behind the shield, still in the awkward half crouch.

"I recommend you to find a stance that will allow you to defend yourself, remain mobile, and keep you comfortable. A duel is an event that could last anything between a couple of seconds or even days, losing composure due to being uncomfortable would lead to much shorter confrontation." Kanetsugu's words were not only well received by the blonde warrior, but carefully written down by the rest of team JNPR, if it was to help their charismatic leader or themselves was up for debate.

"That is going to take me some time… so, more beatings?" Jaune asked, his shield at the ready, but Kanetsugu just chuckled and shook his head.

"No, my friend; you had enough as it is, instead let's see how well you use that sword." Kanetsugu replied, and Jaune felt his luck run out; he didn't complain though, he was learning more today than he had his entire life, he could deal with some major humiliation after such a huge improvement.

Kanetsugu stood straight, and used his free hand to make an inviting gesture that could have passed for a mocking taunt if not for the kindness in his features, it was obvious that he was helping a friend, even if said help was painful. Jaune gave a nod of readiness, and then charged in an absolutely non-professional and clumsy way, upon reaching Kanetsugu, he moved the shield out of the way, and held the sword extremely high to deliver a truly wrongly placed chop… Kanetsugu simple gave a half step to the side, leaving behind a foot to trip the charging blonde; Jaune's fall was admittedly comic and much less painful than the previous beatings, the lack of laughs though, made it clear that the students were taking this seriously.

"Well… that didn't go well. Jaune, I think we have to start from zero with your swordplay, no offence of course." Kanetsugu said to a still downed Jaune Arc.

"None taken…" Jaune weakly replied, his lack of movement could have been attributed to the exhaustion or the shame. On her seat, Glynda Goodwitch seemed ready to kill someone, her eyes were filled with rage and hatred, her hand trembling, almost crushing the edge of the desk, all because her scroll pinged, signaling the end of the best class she ever had…

"As enlightening as this class has been, I'm afraid that our time is over." Glynda stated in barely contained disappointment, a sentiment shared by at least half of the class.

"Already?!" Someone shouted.

"NO! WAIT! I'm still taking notes!" Another cry was accompanied by the hurried sound of notes being scribbled.

"I'm sorry, sensei; it was not my intention to take away your invaluable time." Kanetsugu apologized with a sincerity that was almost painful to watch.

"Actually that's my fault, so I should take the blame." Jaune, now standing, decided to add his thoughts, much to the surprise of the teacher.

"No. There is nothing to apologize for. You two did a wonderful job at reviewing some basic points that most students have forgotten by now, if anything, I thank you both for this opportunity. That being said, mister Arc, I do hope you do not waste this valuable lessons you were remembered today; and mister Naoe, thank you again for taking the time to do some basic teaching, I certainly see a bright future for you as a combat instructor, after you retire from being a huntsman, of course." Glynda's words were like perfectly aimed arrows, hurting students that had forgotten the basics of combat in favor of flashy styles, warning a certain cheater about improving if he didn't want to die, and appropriately praising what she considered the best asset to the kingdom.

As Kanetsugu began to walk back to his team, he couldn't help but to notice the stares of the other students; there was awe, respect and a few other things he was unfamiliar with, even his own teammates seemed surprised. Ruby's childish gleam was more reassuring, she was the one he wanted to help the most, teaching and inspiring her would be the best legacy he could hope to give to this land.

"That was awesome! You are the best teacher EVER!" Ruby had a way with childish words that made Kanetsugu happy.

"I certainly wish my tutors were at least half as good as you." Weiss commented in an honest and surprised way, she expected him to be good, but this blew away her expectations.

"Agreed!" Nobunaga, Mitsuhide, Yang and Blake said at the same time, none remembered to have seen such a brilliant class before.

"Come on! Don't exaggerate what little I can do." Kanetsugu said with a blush on his face, completely caught off guard by the praise. From his seat Jaune looked at Kanetsugu with respect and gratefulness, thinking that maybe in the near future he could take classes from the battle monk, unfortunately for him, one Phyrra Nikos was plotting to be his personal teacher; she wasn't going to allow some guy to spent extra time with her target.

Later that night, at the dorms…

[It has been a very eventful week, but, what have we learned so far?] Nobunaga asked in a very dramatic way, switching to their native tongue as an added safety.

[The kingdoms are divided by political differences, a myriad of views that bring chaos to the civilized lands, distracting the rulers from the tasks they should be attending to.] Mitsuhide stated in a neutral tone, his talks with Weiss had played quite well in gathering information.

[These kids we are playing with, most of them are wasted potential. They had everything to become excellent warriors, but instead they have chosen to become figures of fame and praise; I can hardly blame them though, as for what I have gathered, the adults have ingrained this behavior in their minds and hearts. I do believe that most of them are salvageable; they only need to see a situation that would set them in the right direction, a crisis or some difficult time.] Ranmaru offered his thoughts; he had yet to stop checking the map of the city tough.

[That is true. Distracted rulers can't properly govern, even in such 'peaceful' times, and misguided warriors are hardly worthy defenders; I do agree with Ranmaru in the need of something to impact the lives of the young ones.] Nobunaga replied, taking a thinking posture.

[Planning to become the villain they need? You certainly fit the criteria, and even exceed it.] Mitsuhide shot his barb, it was the most he could do in these circumstances.

[As much merit that idea hold, no, for that will not be necessary. Kanetsugu?] Nobunaga replied, directing his attention to a meditating monk.

[The darkness of the Grimm is not what endangers our white knights; the darkness within is what we have to watch out for. Greed, hatred, fear… moving like a puppet… following commands from the shadows.] Kanetsugu replied as if in a trance, earning the full attention of his companions.

[But… to what purpose?] Mitsuhide asked, fully interested in details, for that would help him to get his wish.

[I'm sorry, but I don't know. I only speak the will of the heavens, understanding it is extremely difficult.] Kanetsugu replied his apology; he also wanted more details, so he can protect these people more adequately.

[There is nothing to apologize for, your visions and wisdom are blessing enough to give us a large advantage in this battlefield of unknowns; I have to ask though, do we have any time reference?] Nobunaga's words put an end to the monk's trance; his face was hard and stern.

[I cannot see beyond the turn of the seasons.] Kanetsugu's grave voice made point in the difficult mission ahead.

[So, just one year?] Mitsuhide asked with unmasked concern, he had no doubt about getting the white knights ready for this evil, but an entire kingdom?

[Actually, less than a year.] Ranmaru added, uncaring about the problems ahead, his faith on his lord was unwavering, especially when dealing with fools that believed themselves real villains.

[It will be enough.] Nobunaga declared, confirming Ranmaru's belief, and earning the attention of the other two warriors.

[Are you certain?] Mitsuhide asked, as he wasn't quite sure about Nobunaga's certainty.

[But of course! Whoever this villain is, he or she is expecting to find resistance among heroes, paragons of virtue, not REAL villains and monsters of the battlefield.] Nobunaga's declaration made sense; villains always expected to fight people abiding by the rules, and the morally acceptable, Nobunaga was not such a person, much less Ranmaru.

[WE are warriors of the light and paragons of justice.] Kanetsugu warned, much to Mitsuhide's relief.

[Of course, and as such we will defend this kingdom and his good people, for they deserve no less. But do we have to be kind to the enemies of our beloved ones? Show mercy to those who would kill and destroy without second thought?] Nobunaga began to use one of his most deadly weapons, as rhetoric had been enough to break entire clans without force.

[I hate war and bloodshed, and will never approve of neither; but to protect those who give and deserve love, I'm willing bathe in the blood of our enemies, and destroy them until there is not even the memory left of any of them.] Kanetsugu's zeal made Mitsuhide seriously grateful for being in the same side; he didn't feel any pity for said enemies though.

[Good, when the time comes you will be the one to ensure peace to this land, of that I'm sure. For now we'll have to act like a king taijitu.] Nobunaga stated, knowing that his plan will be followed.

[I don't follow.] Mitsuhide said, honestly confused at the reference used.

[Of course you don't.] Ranmaru's barb was delivered so quick that it really hurt the samurai.

[Allow me to explain: what we need is to secure a foothold in both sides of the battlefield; Kanetsugu and Mitsuhide are true paragons of the light, so you should have no trouble influencing the students, staff and politics of the academy, I'd say that Glynda-sensei's book should be published in a very positive light, a light that the crown will want to add to it gems. Meanwhile, Ranmaru and I will mingle with the dark side, getting knowledge of its movements, important figures and whatnot; the faunus suffer discrimination, which makes them susceptible to the lure of darkness; they surely know, or will know, of the evil to come; besides, if I can place them on our side, we'll have the advantage in numbers. This of course is only the beginning; we have to be ready to get new information on possible angles, and motivations, for this evil to come.] Nobunaga explained his plan as detailed as he believed necessary, earning nods from both Ranmaru and Kanetsugu, but a stern glare from Mitsuhide.

[This is oddly well planned for such a short time, Nobunaga; any plans on world domination we should be aware of?] Mitsuhide's snide comment was actually expected, so an answer was delivered instantly.

[Come on now, Mitsuhide, don't be so short sighted. Let's first focus on saving our beautiful knights and their kingdom; then we can worry about affecting this world on a larger scale.] Nobunaga's reply was good enough to evade attention, but it didn't really dispel any notions about his ambition.

[PERFECT!] Ranmaru's sudden shout gained everyone's attention; no one believed he was referring to Nobunaga's plan.

[What is, Ranmaru?] Nobunaga asked in honest confusion.

[The planning for tomorrow's date.] Ranmaru said offhandedly.

[What date?] Mitsuhide and Nobunaga asked at the same time, one of them was starting to worry, a lot.

[Yours, my lord; with the beautiful Blake Belladonna.] Ranmaru said in an innocent voice that spelled trouble, of the greatest degree.

[Wait what?] Nobunaga asked in shock, as much as he wanted some nice quality time with the cat girl, he was certain nobody said anything about a date.

[Yes, both of you agreed to have a private meeting to finally clarify your sentimental standing; so, I just planned for both of you to visit a local, and secluded, bookstore; the route is scenic and not very transited, and the local is almost empty that day, giving you all the time and privacy you need to discuss such a sensitive topic to an appropriate closure.] Ranmaru explained like a girl playing matchmaking… everyone decided to think in anything else to remove such image from their minds…

[Ranmaru… give me that.] Nobunaga almost demanded, fortunately Ranmaru obeyed without a second thought… it didn't help things when he saw that it was his scroll what was handed to him, much less to see the icon showing that the plan had been sent via e-mail… to Blake.

[You sent it without my permission?] Nobunaga asked in a rather angry voice, he was angrier at the prospect of having to deal with an angry Blake after seeing such a bold move, than to Ranmaru's antics.

[I must have pressed something by accident; these things are certainly complicated and sensitive.] Ranmaru's voice and smile were proof enough that he didn't make any accident.

[Ranmaru… what led you to believe that someone like her would…] Nobunaga's angry rant was cut short when his scroll pinged, showing that his favorite cat girl had replied to the mail, her answer was yes in capital letters, followed by a pink heart. Nobunaga knew that sleep was not scheduled this night; he had now to prepare for the date… and whatever else Ranmaru had in store for him.

Headmaster's office…

Ozpin had to resist the urge to hit his desk with his fist, the damned tribesmen had decided to use their native tongue in a secret meeting of sorts, and while the Edo's cipher had been very useful on books and writings, it was almost useless with the spoken language. For now he would set down with a reprimand to Glynda, she was beginning to show too much affection toward these guys, and it was clouding her judgment; Kanetsugu's teaching was not wrong, but it was out of time; he had set the times for the critical lessons for the greater good, and he didn't like the idea of having to change how education worked just because someone decided to try something different.

"You need to learn to do things the right way, but how to teach you that?" Ozpin muttered to himself, already planning to try something to put the samurai warriors in the proper path… his path.

* * *

 **Magnus:** After seeing the new chapters of season 3, I have beginning to plot some horible things against the villians of this story, it's just a warning, so, those of you who love some of the villains may want to start sending ideas on how to save them.


	9. Date

**Magnus:** Sorry for making you wait, but I had a hard time trying to not portry my own feelings in the scenes, so I'm sorry if anything seems off.

 **Disclaimer:** See chapter 1.

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

 **Date**

Nobunaga was nervous, this wasn't really new, what was new was that he actually showed his nervousness; his world was very different from Blake's, his view and vision would be obviously different too, contrary even, so it stood to reason that once he open to her, she could reject him; worse still, Kanetsugu's words kept echoing on his mind…

" _Whatever path you wish to take with her, be truthful; is the least she deserves."_

Nobunaga could only take the one item he couldn't let go, a lock of long and silky black hair, tied with a single knot; she had made him promise that he would live on if she happened to die before him, but he never thought that such a time would come…

"Will she understand? Will she accept it? Accept me? Oh, my beautiful angel of death, how am I supposed to approach this? Should I tell her everything? Should I tell her what she can understand? Oh, may precious and lovely killer, do you approve of her?" Nobunaga quietly said to the lock of hair, he wasn't afraid of starting a relationship with Blake Belladonna, he was afraid of finally showing his open heart, and his true intentions. Suddenly he felt a hand softly touching his shoulder, as if trying to bring some comfort, turning around he saw Ranmaru smiling for him.

"My lord; while I cannot say that she will fully accept the Demon King, I'm certain she will love the Fool of Owari. Just be yourself." Ranmaru's words were a solid advice, and that lifted the spirit of the visionary.

"I better go to sleep then; tomorrow will bring what it will bring." Nobunaga finally said, and retired for the night.

Next morning…

Nobunaga stood in front of team RWBY's room door, he wasn't any less nervous than last night, but at least he wasn't showing it; he knew that he had to bring a closure to what they had started with the unlocking of auras, so he decided to go on with it, and face whatever fate had in store for him… he would not deny that he was actually more scared about what Ranmaru may had in store… so, after taking a calming breath, he knocked on the door three times, he was not surprised when the door opened immediately.

"Oh, hello. I wasn't expecting you so early." Blake said as she opened the door, but Nobunaga knew she was lying; she was already dressed, using a brand new perfume and looking ready for just anything.

"Well, what can I say? I just wanted to spend as most time as possible with you, my beautiful lady." Nobunaga replied in what Blake qualified as a perfectly performed lady killer pick up line, his recently polished armor, and perfumed clothes only accentuated how well he was going to play today.

"That sounds very well practiced; do I need to worry about ghosts of the past showing up?" Blake playfully asked, the twitch of her bow and the way she swayed her hips giving her away; Nobunaga managed to not show how those words actually hurt him, he couldn't blame her, and of course, he would explain everything to her.

"That is some cat-like curiosity you have; but it's all right, I love it. Shall we?" Nobunaga's remark made Blake's bow twitch, but she accepted the fact that she may have struck a nerve, or a wound, so she didn't comment, instead, she focused on how he offered his arm in an old fashion that is still considered romantic.

"We shall." Blake replied while hooking her arm with his; she didn't miss the looks of all the girls they passed, she certainly enjoyed the envious glares; what she missed though, where a pair of heads with long hairs and eyes full of mischief.

"We have to watch this, the whole thing!" Yang whispered to her partner in crime.

"Of course we will! But keep quiet and keep your distance, we cannot interfere in their date, nor allow anything or anyone else to do so!" Ranmaru whispered back, his eyes not losing his targets for a single second; if this romance succeeded or failed, it won't be due to outside circumstances.

Team JNPR room…

When Glynda Goodwitch became aware of the notice of the day, she knew she had to act; she wasn't against the idea of the couple getting together, much less in the prospect of any student finding a romance, she was against the idea of her charges getting scared due to hormonal girls getting the wrong idea; many books that had been translated portrayed the notions of Edo style romance as something slow, serious and respectful, what she saw on Blake Belladonna's eyes was an unbearable lust…

"The four of you are formally charged with the disappearance of 30 gallons of syrup, we know that at least two of you have entered the kitchens unsupervised since the first day of the semester, and the cooks are rather… upset… at the lack of such an important and expensive ingredient; anything to say about this?" Glynda asked in a calm voice that sounded even worse than her usual stern approach. In the background Nora tried to make herself as small as possible while hiding behind Ren, who by the way was covering his face with both hands, apparently ashamed at the turn of events; Pyrrha, meanwhile, was trying her best to not look menacing while glaring at her teammates, failing miserably in doing so, she was the angriest in the room, because this event was going to prevent her from getting closer to certain someone; Jaune decided to act as a true leader, even if he didn't realize he was doing so.

"We are sorry, professor; I should have kept a better track of my team… is there a way to pay for this, without going as far as a formal charge?" Jaune asked with a heart melting sincerity, but this was what Glynda was waiting for.

"There may be a way. I have a special task for your team, extracurricular, of course; if you succeed at it, you'll only have to pay for 10 gallons of syrup, or gather it from the Forever Fall; without a formal charge or detention." Glynda said, leaving the bait for them to fall for it, she didn't had to wait.

"We'll do it; what is the task?" Jaune said quickly, ready to do anything to save his team for whatever punishment they deserved for the theft of the syrup; Glynda nodded at this, and began to explain.

"Teams RWBY and NKRA are going in what seem to be dates today, you will follow them in the next order: mister Lie will follow mister Oda and miss Belladonna, miss Valkyrie will follow mister Mori and miss Xiao Long, miss Nikos will follow mister Akechi and miss Schnee, and mister Arc will follow mister Naoe and miss Rose; you are not chaperones, you will follow at an appropriate distance so you do not disturb their activities." Glynda explained, earning confused stares from the team.

"Professor, do you expect us to interfere if their activities become too… extreme?" Pyrrha ventured to ask, earning the stares in return.

"Miss Nikos, here in Vale we do not frown upon romantic notions blossoming among students, nor we try to stop them, but do I have to remind you that the four guys involved are not only not from our kingdom, but from a completely different culture that may not be as open minded as we are? You will discretely interrupt the scene if you see the poor guys struggling to stop the advances of the girls." Glynda explained, and the entire team JNPR had faces of disbelief, however only one was reeling from the task ahead…

"Wait! Four guys?!" Nora and Pyrrha asked in shock.

"Isn't Ranmaru a girl?!" Ren asked with eyes so wide it was hilarious.

"You didn't know?" Jaune asked his team, in retrospective it wasn't a smart move.

"YOU DID?!" The three shouted at their leader.

"Well… he dresses like a guy, looks at Yang like most other guys do, has a mean right hook… and Kanetsugu told me." Jaune finally answered, unable to take on the glares of his team; Glynda could only shook her head in annoyance, hoping to have selected the correct team for this task.

Nobunaga and Blake…

All the trek to the city has been enjoyable, both of them had laughed and smiled while recounting all the times they tried to avoid each other and not blush when they touched, then they laughed at the intense stares they got when they got out of the school with their arms linked; now they were walking over a bridge, it was not the greatest view, but it was private enough; Nobunaga stopped at the middle of the bridge, and rested his hands on the rail, as if looking at the city, but his eyes were looking farther than that…

"Are you all right?" Blake softly asked, she knew something was bothering the visionary, and she had a sinking suspicion that it was related to his past, this only seemed to be confirmed when he took a lock of hair from one of his pockets.

"That is a very hard question to answer. Instead, allow me to confess my feelings." Nobunaga said, making a dramatic pause to allow Blake to get ready.

"Ok, go ahead." Blake said, although her voice betrayed the fact that her heart had skipped a beat; she was torn between being worried and excited, for this could go anywhere.

"First allow me to clarify, I love you, or more like I'm falling in love with you; it is more than the aftermath of what we did in that secluded classroom; it is not like we are the same, but what each other needs, you are my shadow, that which I need to know is following me, and I'm your darkness, the mantle that keeps your heart safe. I believe that denying these things is foolishness, so staying apart is nothing but stubbornness; we belong together, and together we should be." Nobunaga elaborated, and while he never looked at her on his whole speech, his voice spoke of a seriousness deep enough to gather all the attention of the faunus girl.

"I agree with you completely, Nobunaga. If you can accept me, what I am, then I'll gladly be yours." Blake declared with a massive blush, this could have been her dream come true, if not for the fact that he was still holding that lock of hair; her senses alerted her that it belonged to a human woman, and that was worrying.

"Blake… before we do this officially, I need to take heed of my friend's words; you need to know the truth about me, and then decide if you can accept me in your heart." Nobunaga warned, finally looking at her; his eyes looked old, aged by a pain so great that it was amazing he remained alive.

"I'm listening." Blake said with fear in her heart, she didn't know what to think, she didn't want to imagine what he could be hiding, for she wanted to believe that he was perfect.

"You need to know that I am, or rather was, a warlord; my hands are stained with the blood of many, and through my orders, entire clans were erased. I mourn the loss of the lives I have destroyed, but I do not regret the choices I made; I'd rather remain tainted by the blood than to seek redemption for the cause I defended. I am… was, a married man, and brother of the most virtuous damsel of the world; both women shared my heart, and I smiled for both, fought for both, and bled for both. I hold no hopes of returning home, so I know I won't be able to visit their graves… Now I place my heart in your hands, you can accept it or reject it, knowing that I will respect your decision, knowing that I won't blame you if you don't want someone like me in your life." Nobunaga explained everything he could to a wide eyed Blake, now he only had to wait for her answer, and it began when she took his hands into hers…

"I can feel you are honest… so you deserve the same. My hands are not clean, and while I never had the courage to take a life directly, I know that my actions ended with the lives of… innocents; at least you can say you did it to defend your cause without regrets, but I did it out of cowardice. My old partner and I… we… I'm sorry I can't give you my virginity… but if you accept me, I promise… no, I swear I'll stay with you until the very end, whatever it may be." Blake was finally able to say all she was carrying, all she was hiding, all her shame; it felt good to finally let it out, but it also terrified her, for she knew that after everything she had done, anyone sane not only would reject her on the spot, but also would turn her to the police; it was with great surprise that she felt Nobunaga's hand caressing her face with great care and love, and his eyes looking into hers with what could only be understanding and forgiveness.

"Your burdens are now my own; let me be your liberation." Nobunaga said as he closed in for a kiss, but it was Blake the one who closed the distance; there was no such a thing as a perfect man or woman, instead they understood that they were what each other needed. The kiss ended after a minute, and now Blake touched Nobunaga's hand, and the lock of hair.

"What was her name?" Blake asked, caressing the hair with respect.

"Her name was Noh." Nobunaga replied, still pained at mentioning her name, the name of the assassin that forfeited her mission in the name of love.

"Noh… rest in peace knowing that you won't be forgotten, rest in peace knowing that I'm not your replacement, but a new spec of life in our beloved Nobunaga." Blake softly said, and then watched how Nobunaga undid the knot that held the hair, and then allowed the wind to take away the hair. His old life was gone, away in the past, now he would walk forward, with Blake.

From his spot, Ren could barely resist the urge to sigh, he just couldn't understand what was he supposed to watch; the pair had been well behaved for the most part, and while he couldn't hear anything they were saying, at least he could say that the kiss was pretty much a normal one, the only thing he could report is that they were now an official couple, and most likely would flaunt their shared love of theatrics and poetry around the students and professors, earning groans and glares, and an occasional remark, other than that, nothing of importance.

"Thank goodness Nora is not into that stuff, otherwise I would not see the end of it." Ren said to himself, and then proceeded to follow the couple toward their next destination.

Mitsuhide and Weiss…

Among the tables arranged in the gardens, Mitsuhide and Weiss were having a nice tea; Mitsuhide was happy, with Nobunaga away in the city, he could say with all sincerity that the air in the academy was much less foul, and the hallways and gardens more illuminated; spending time with Weiss was admittedly a nice boon. He calculated that if Nobunaga happens to be tied to Blake on an intimate level, his chances of returning home without opposition would be all the greater; of course he didn't approve of the poor girl getting too attached to such a monster, but sacrifices had to be made, and better her than an entire nation.

"This week has been delightful; I want to think that we can keep doing these tea parties in a regular basis." Weiss suddenly said, speaking the truth in a way that she could not believe a week ago; she enjoyed the company of the samurai, who seemed to be way too refined to be called tribal.

"I don't see why we couldn't do so; your company is certainly enjoyable." Mitsuhide replied after taking a small sip from his tea, while he never held the cup in the same way Weiss did, she certainly didn't judge him, she just accepted that it was the way he was taught to do so, his perfect motion and timing certainly helped to not pay attention to such minor detail.

"I… thank you; I enjoy your company too." Weiss replied with a small blush.

When Pyrrha received this assignment, she thought she would have to follow her targets to the broom closets, dark and unused classrooms or behind the bushes, she even brought a notebook and pencil to take notes on what moves to use on her own target; instead she got involved into the most boring and slow paced drama of history, so far they had touched three political topics, debated about laws that she didn't know existed, and even compared the craftsmanship of accessories; with all honesty, it was a miracle she hasn't fallen sleep half the way…

"Mitsuhide, I being meaning to ask, what kind of woman do you value the most?" Weiss asked with a little bit of apprehension.

"Well, that is a tricky question. If you mean my people, then I can tell you that virtue and modesty are the most valued aspects. If you were asking for my personal opinion, I believe that a strong woman who can understand and share my conviction is what I need, of course I would need to understand her, otherwise it would be a pointless relationship." Mitsuhide replied in what appeared to be a neutral voice, earning a smirk from the heiress.

"Believe me, I understand what you mean." Weiss added with her now usual haughty tone.

Pyrrha's head hit the table upon hearing such remarks, barely missing her own cup of tea and slice of cake; she just couldn't believe them, romance was supposed to be something fierce, not a political dance!

"I know that by now we would move to our standard sparring session, but would you please accept an offer to stay like this? This is a rather beautiful day, and I feel it would be better spent in this delightful manner." Mitsuhide made his request, either unaware or uncaring of how it sounded.

"That reasonable enough, I'd like to spend the rest of the day like this, with you." Weiss replied, grateful of the offer, because she also felt like taking a day off; as much as Mitsuhide helped her, he was also quite the slave driver when going into combat mode.

Pyrrha almost lost the battle against her urges to shout them to kiss already; she hoped Jaune wasn't like this, because that would truly kill her…

Kanetsugu and Ruby…

They started their day quite normally, they knew beforehand that Blake and Nobunaga were going out in a date, so that didn't surprise them, they also knew that Weiss and Mitsuhide were going to have a chat over a cup of tea, what came as a surprise was when Yang and Ranmaru excused themselves to go to the city, together… Yang promised to bring cookies on her way back, so Ruby didn't protest, then she noticed that she and Kanetsugu were the only ones standing in the hallway…

"So… you do like cookies?" Ruby asked to Kanetsugu in a childish attempt to start a conversation; Yang had been pestering about what she liked about the battle monk for the entire week, so it shocked her that now she was allowed some time alone with him.

"To be honest, I never had one; so I can't tell you if I like them or not." Kanetsugu replied with the kind voice Ruby had come to love, however she reacted bad at his comment.

"WHAT?! How is that possible?! You totally need to taste them! Like right now!" Ruby shouted and then grabbed Kanetsugu to drag him to the cafeteria, not allowing him to react or protest.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Jaune said to himself while watching the scene, memories of his youngest sister forcing him to eat mud cakes resurfacing in his mind brought a sense of pity that he didn't thought he could feel.

When they reached the cafeteria Ruby screamed again, because there were no cookies; this forced her into plan B, making the cookies herself… with Kanetsugu's help. Getting the permission and a cook to supervise them wasn't hard, neither gathering the ingredients, but with the lack of a recipe, and only the general knowledge of how to make them, they had to experiment by themselves.

"Well, it was fun; I hope I did things right, wouldn't want to ruin your cookies." Kanetsugu said he had to mix the ingredients by following the rather ambiguous directions of the leader of team RWBY, he also did it with his bare hands, as he had no knowledge on how to use the tools; it was a good thing that both had changed clothes, because now he was covered in large splatters of the amassed ingredients.

"I'm sure they will come out right, and I don't think you can ruin anything with those hands." Ruby replied while still looking at the oven with the cookies inside; her words were pure and innocent, but in the background Jaune and the cook, a chubby lady, couldn't help but to think she had said a little too much.

"Well, I think the only thing left is to watch over what we placed in the oven; we should do things like these more often, it is fun." Kanetsugu said while standing a little too close to Ruby, who didn't seem to mind at all.

"Yeah, making use of the oven is fun." Ruby said absentminded; on the background the pair watching them had the urge to bang their heads against something to take out the bad thoughts, if they hadn't seen them work, they would assume they were having a sexual conversation.

Ranmaru and Yang…

Nora was annoyed, when she began to follow the odd pair, and taking into consideration all the wild rumors about them, she expected to catch them red handed like a pair of bunnies; instead she found herself tailing a pair that was tailing another pair. Yang and Ranmaru had been following Blake and Nobunaga, at a safe enough distance to not disturb them, but close enough to intervene if necessary, to Nora their intentions were strange, at first she didn't know if they were there to protect the other pair, or if they were trying to sabotage the date; she got her answer when in the distance Nobunaga and Blake were seen kissing, and Ranmaru and Yang held hands and doing a happy dance.

"Voyeurs…" Nora muttered with a little bit of disgust; she liked to watch a little bit of romance, but not real couples, she wouldn't like to know that someone was watching her and Ren being close… not that they were together-together…

The rest of the outing was pretty much the same, she tailed her targets, which in turn tailed their own targets, until they reached a bookstore; here things took a turn into the strange, First Nobunaga and Blake shared a small kiss before entering the store, at which Ranmaru and Yang continued to show their delight, then Ren showed up and entered the store, this placed her targets into high alert, and saw how they dashed to the store, fearing for Ren's safety, she rushed too; inside she couldn't help but to feel as if walking into an ambush.

"Well, I hope there is an explanation for this entire ruckus." Nobunaga stated in a very menacing pose, while Blake was glaring daggers at everyone.

"Calm down lovebirds! Ranmaru had this wonderful idea of ensuring that nobody would disturb you, and I volunteered to help; the streets of Vale aren't as safe as we like to think they are, you know?" Yang explained while holding her hands up in a placating gesture, she wasn't lying about the overall intentions; she just didn't added the fact that she was having a lot of fun watching all the interactions.

"Proof of that, my lord, is that this guy not only entered right after you, but he has been following you since you left the academy grounds!" Ranmaru added while still keeping his heel on Ren's neck, he was still reeling from the amazingly precise and violent maneuver that the feminine guy delivered to him.

"Ren!" Nora shouted while trying to aid her… friend; unfortunately for her, Yang managed to hold her from behind with enough strength to almost crush a tree.

"Hold on, sweetie; you still have to explain why you were following me and my cutiepie." Yang said to the still struggling hammer user.

"Ranmaru, Yang, let them go! It is obvious that someone else thought about granting us some security detail; when we go back, I'll make sure to let Glynda-sensei know that you two are all the security detail we would ever need… I'm still curious though, why did you enter the store with us, if you weren't supposed to be seen?" Nobunaga said with a stern voice that both Yang and Ranmaru obeyed, Ren however, feared for his safety, for the last question was directed to him.

"I only wanted a new cooking book, it never crossed my mind that your bodyguard here was so well trained, or so violent." Ren said while Nora hugged him, never before she had been so worried for her… friend.

"And you?" Blake asked to a now scared Nora.

"I…" Nora struggled to find something to say, she didn't want any more violence directed toward her… friend.

"Professor Goodwitch asked her to follow Ranmaru and Yang, for she feared the two of them would cause trouble." Ren answered for her, much to her delight.

"Ok, I can believe that." Blake finally said, while face palming; she knew that something like this was bound to happen.

"My lady, please have a little more faith in us!" Ranmaru's plead shocked Blake greatly.

"Your… lady?" Blake asked, while Nobunaga rubbed the bridge of his nose, he should have explained this earlier too.

"You and my lord are now together, that makes you my lady, and as such I will serve you too." Ranmaru explained with stars on his eyes; Blake decided that the image was too girly to accept it.

"This is a mandatory part of the package?" Blake asked to Nobunaga, who was now covering his face with both hands.

"I'm afraid so, until death makes us part ways." Nobunaga replied, although he referred to Ranmaru.

"Ok… just give us some space, and privacy." Blake said, accepting the good with the bad in her new romantic adventure.

"Of course! Yang and I will go to the other side of the book store, you can freely ignore us." Ranmaru said while walking to another aisle of the admittedly small store.

"Have fun!" Yang shouted while following a very happy Ranmaru.

With that, Ren finally managed to get to the section of cooking books, while Nora decided to watch over Ranmaru and Yang; she was feeling really guilty, because of her actions Ren almost got hurt, and she didn't believe that the feminine guy would have stopped at simply hurting him… she needed something to say how sorry she was, but no ideas came to mind.

"Now that my lord and my lady are enjoying their time together, let's see if there is something worth to read." Ranmaru muttered, not wanting his voice to disrupt whatever Nobunaga and Blake were doing.

"Oh, and what kind of kinky stuff are you looking for?" Yang asked in a low voice, directly on his ear, earning the obvious blush on his face.

"Kinky?" Ranmaru asked as he looked for something to distract him, his eyes soon fell upon a very dark title. Not waiting for Yang's explanation he opened the book to take a peek inside.

"Yeah! Kinky, like smut, porn or… that!" Yang stuttered when she leaned her head on Ranmaru's shoulder to look at the book on his hands, her eyes went as wide as Ranmaru's as both drank the contents of the book.

"Oh! OH! OH MY!" Yang began to go vocal on her opinion, while Ranmaru settled for just liking his lips, had he know there were books like these, he would have sneaked his way to get them some time ago.

"Ranmaru! I clearly remember to forbid you to come any were nearby torture teachings in any way or form, books included!" Nobunaga's voice was clearly heard in the entire local, making Ranmaru cringe in absolute fear; Yang didn't know how he noticed, but wasn't going to allow the poor guy to face this alone.

"That's mine! Ranmaru is still looking for something to read!" Yang shouted while lifting the book, it clearly read as 'Ancient torture techniques and other ancestral methods of justice'.

"You know I wouldn't dare to disobey you, my lord!" Ranmaru added while making a gesture of gratefulness, Yang just winked at him in a clear message that she would ask a favor in return at some other time.

"Yang, do not open that thing in a way Ranmaru can read it; otherwise Ruby will know about your deviant hobby!" Blake shouted, shooting down all notions of fun.

"Damn it!" Both Ranmaru and yang muttered… although they didn't put the book back where it was.

Nora just couldn't stand it anymore, so she decided to ignore Goodwitch orders in favor to gain a much needed forgiveness; Ren quickly found himself in the receiving end of a soft hug, and when he looked down, his eyes met Nora, who was making use of a very powerful technique, the puppy eyes. Ren fought valiantly for an entire minute, then he gave in and patted her head in a clear message that she had won, he really hated himself for being so weak…

Back at the academy…

Jaune knew that shit had hit the fan when they opened the oven, if only it had been smoke, or a foul smell, but no, the aroma was akin to the finest bakeries of the kingdom, not the ones of the cities, but the ones in the villages, where everything had a more homemade taste; The cheerful pair carefully placed all the cookies in a basket, and while they looked deformed and a little bit amateurish, they certainly looked delicious.

"Well, this certainly smells good." Kanetsugu said after taking a closer look at the pastries, he didn't know how were they supposed to look, but at least it smelled edible.

"Well, not the best looking cookies, but…" Ruby said while taking one, then, without warning, she placed it in Kanetsugu's mouth, apparently not caring that the tip of her fingers touched his lips, much less that he looked as if kissing said fingers.

"That was delicious!" Kanetsugu exclaimed his surprise, but for the witnesses it was impossible to tell if he was referring to the cookie or Ruby's fingers. Kanetsugu then mirrored Ruby's action, and placed a cookie in Ruby's mouth, who repeated his action of kissing the fingers; Jaune and the cook had the feeling that this was getting a little too hot to safely watch…

By sunset both teams were reunited at a bench in one of the school gardens, it was a beautiful sight, a perfect ending to a nice day, but the people wasn't looking at the setting sun, they were looking at the bench…

"Oh my!" Weiss exclaimed in a very low voice, her mind couldn't wrap around the scene before her.

"This is certainly unexpected." Nobunaga said, unable to tear apart his eyes from what was in the bench.

"Do you think they understand how this looks?" Blake asked to no one in particular, yet no one dared to make an answer.

"This requires a picture." Ranmaru said while taking said picture with his scroll, and while everyone knew that such action was a bad idea, no one tried to stop him.

"I can't believe my sister is that cute!" Yang finally said after her brain restarted; in the bench, leaning against each other, Kanetsugu and Ruby were sleeping, she was hugging his arm, her face looked absolutely adorable while she was nibbling the fabric of his robe, meanwhile he had his head leaning against her's, blissfully smiling as if he was protecting her dreams; the cookies at the side were proof enough that no matter how much their minds tried to picture something bad out of this, this scene was a picture of purity.

"So… who is going to wake them up?" Mitsuhide suddenly asked, but no one offered to do so. Suddenly Ruby curled up and hugged Kanetsugu's arm more tightly, and muttered something that sounded like 'tsugu-tsugu'; everyone silently decided that maybe a little bit of teasing was going to come in the near future for the cheerful pair…

Team JNPR room…

Glynda was satisfied, her charges survived the dates without being sexually assaulted by the girls; she gave a fond smile at how good Nobunaga and Blake looked together, she only hoped that said girl had been honest to him about her nature as a faunus, but she also knew that the visionary wouldn't mind about that; Mitsuhide and Weiss behaved quite well, and she could see that the heiress was warming up to the samurai at a very acceptable pace; as for Ranmaru and Yang, she decided that not having them causing an incident was more than enough to be grateful; Kanetsugu and Ruby were the ones who worried her the most…

"So, you mean to tell me that with such pure and childish acts they managed to cause such a great commotion?" Glynda asked to the leader of the team.

"Believe me, I was there, I saw them, and I still believe that something is really wrong. They said everything in childish purity, and it sounded absolutely sexual." Jaune reported with the voice of someone who had seen more than he should, this of course earned the glare of certain red headed gladiator.

"You… had more fun than me… unforgivable!" Pyrrha finally exploded, after all the boredom she was subjected to, hearing about an actual couple going into a playful streak was too much; Jaune decided to cheer her up with the only thing he had at hand, a bag of cookies that the cheerful pair gave to him.

"Here, take a cookie!" Jaune said as he quickly put a cookie on her mouth, too late he noticed that his fingers were now touching her lips, and she was apparently enjoying it.

"Ah, so it was like that!" Ren said with sudden realization.

"Now that is an advanced technique!" Nora un-helpfully supplied.

"I think I'll leave you two alone now. Anyway, thank you for your assistance, your sentence will be greatly reduced." Glynda said a little too quickly and left the room, followed by Nora and Ren.

"No, wait!" Jaune pleaded too late, now he had to deal with blushing Pyrrha, who deliberately kept his fingers in her mouth.

* * *

 **Magnus:** I still have to see the new chapter of RWBY, but I fear that my hatred toward the villains is going to grow to the point of making sure to give them extremely gruesome endings...


	10. Ripples in a Pond

**Magnus:** Hello, and thanks for reading so far. After reading some reviews, I find the need to clarify something about Ozpin, I have a suspicion that he is not as good as he portrys himself, I'm not saying I believe him to be truly evil, but I'm waiting to see what his true intentions are in the series. With that out of the way, here is the new chapter, with more obvious deviations from the original story. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** Is someone still reading this part?

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

 **Ripples in a Pond**

It has been three weeks since the Samurai Warriors began their education at Beacon Academy, and their influence was beginning to show; team RWBY has become closer and closer to them, from the childish acts of Ruby and Kanetsugu, to the full blown romance played by Blake and Nobunaga, and while other teams had begun to show interest in what the tribal team could teach, team JNPR seemed to accept them the most…

"STOP HIDING BEHIND YOUR SHIELD!" Cardin shouted at Jaune while swinging his mace with as much force as he could.

"Sure, as soon as you stop attacking me!" Jaune answered while blocking.

It all started with Kanetsugu's lesson, Jaune Arc had advanced from the joke of the year to a mere mediocre warrior, his skills with the shield had become nothing short of masterful, but he still had to use his sword to an effective degree; Pyrrha had tried to correct this with a serious training on their free time, but so far she only managed to get him to do short stabs that amounted to nothing more than bug bites, combined with his tortoise style of fighting though, it made him invincible… if only because it was excruciatingly slow to get his aura to drop anything at all.

"What's the matter? Can't fight like a true man?!" Cardin taunted while lowering his guard, hoping to get Jaune out of his nearly perfect defense.

"Sorry buddy, I'm not falling for that again." Jaune answered without moving an inch, still ready to defend and then throw another short stab, if the opportunity was not risky.

Cardin had selected Jaune almost every time he got into a spar, the first two times he won against the blonde, the first with ease, the second only through taunts, after that, his ego had taken blow after blow for not being able to defeat the weakest student of their generation… Jaune had to yet score a single victory though.

"That is enough! Due to the time of the class being over, this match is considered a draw… again." Glynda stopped the fight, in what had become a rather dull habit; she didn't blame the students though, as each individual had the right to choose their fighting style and stick to it, she knew that Jaune had improved astronomically since the beginning of the semester, so it stood to reason that he would continue to do so.

"That is bullshit! I did hit him enough times to set his aura bar lower than mine!" Cardin protested at the judgment of the combat instructor.

"While that is true, he also hit you enough times to counteract the damage you did; this information can be checked in your scrolls. And don't think I'll let your use of improper language to go unpunished, you just earned detention, mister Winchester." Glynda stated the obvious, for everyone could see that both hunters in training had the exact same percentage of aura.

"Come on, Cardin! It's not my fault that you couldn't pass my defense!" Jaune said playfully; he only had his defense to go on, so he decided to cheer it as much as possible.

"SHUT UP, COWARD! This isn't over yet!" Cardin shouted while stomping all the way to his team, earning laughs from many who had suffered him since the beginning of the term.

Later, at the cafeteria…

Since the day of the 'dates' teams RWBY and NKRA had been sitting together during their meals, enjoying conversations, sharing battle tips, and being the talk of the entire school, both because Nobunaga and Blake had made it obvious that their romance wasn't going to be a discrete one, and because Ruby and Kanetsugu looked adorable together… even if that meant they were teased relentlessly.

"This is Ruby's face while dreaming with her hero." Weiss teasingly stated while showing her scroll with a picture of Ruby sleeping, while hugging and nibbling on her pillow; to say that Ruby was embarrassed would be a serious understatement.

"Weiss, why did you take a picture of me while sleeping?! WHY ARE YOU TAKING PICTURES OF SLEEPING PEOPLE TO BEGIN WITH?!" Ruby shouted while flailing her arms to block the picture from everyone, failing miserably to do so.

"I agree with Ruby about her displeasure; if she doesn't want others to see her while sleeping, you should respect her privacy." Kanetsugu immediately jumped to Ruby's defense, much to her pleasure and embarrassment.

"Of course you would agree with her." Ranmaru pointed in a teasing voice, and while Kanetsugu simply ignored him, Ruby sported a beautiful crimson red blush.

"And this picture… shows us how greatly disappointed she was upon awakening and not finding her hero at her side." Weiss called now, showing a picture that clearly depicted Ruby's displeasure after finding that her pillow was just a pillow…

"Sis… what were you dreaming about to have that face?!" Yang asked, alarmed at how her little, pure and innocent sister was acting like a hormonal teenager.

"I'm sure her dreams are nothing like yours." Ranmaru suddenly interjected, but this wasn't a surprise to his teammates, for Nobunaga had asked him to interact as much as possible.

"Well, that's a relief… HEY!" Yang noticed the sudden barb too late, although she wasn't angry, just a little bit surprised.

"I demand you to stop now! Don't you see that you are tormenting your leader?" Kanetsugu was fast to defend Ruby, who had her face covered with both hands; the poor girl was not really ashamed of her dreams, which were quite innocent, instead she was embarrassed to have them mentioned in front of the object of said dreams.

"Shouldn't we stop them, Nobu?" Blake whispered to Nobunaga; she was sitting on his lap, and looked ready to defend her place if any teacher or student wanted her to move.

"There is no need for that; in fact, I believe this would help to bring them together." Nobunaga replied, enjoying his pet name to a degree he couldn't believe.

"Hey guys! Mind if we sit here?" Jaune asked just as his team sat in the next table, they have been doing that a lot lately; the most plausible cause was the fact that team CRDL always sat as far as possible from team NKRA.

"I don't see how we could stop you." Mitsuhide sarcastically said, making Nobunaga shook his head at the loss of the opportunity to bring the cheerful pair as an official couple; at the same time, Weiss quickly stored her scroll on her pocket, she could agree to tease Ruby, but not in front of other people.

"So, what brings you people here, with us, again?" Blake dryly asked, she didn't hate them, she even considered them friends, but this was getting too repetitive, and Pyrrha had a bad habit of staring too intently at her and Nobunaga…

"Not that we mind, you are our friends after all!" Ruby quickly added, not wanting to see any kind of friction between teams.

"It's more peaceful." Ren answered before anyone else could, making sure to be honest while not saying much; it didn't work though.

"Cardin is bullying you again, Jaune?" Ruby asked with worry in her voice; Jaune was her friend, and it pained her to see such a nice person being tormented by an idiot like Cardin.

"It's… more like practical jokes…" Jaune tried to not sound as if in need of help, but he only sounded worse.

"Seriously? Being trapped in the elevator for hours, having your shield stuck in the door frame and being launched in your locker are practical jokes? You may be tough, but he will end up killing you if you don't fight back!" Yang retorted, making a good point while sounding a little bit angry.

"It's not… like that…" Jaune sounded defeated, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was being bullied, he was still trying to decide if his constant battles with Cardin had any influence on this.

"Jaune, if you need help, do not hesitate to ask us, we are your teammates, and we will help you." Pyrrha said in an extremely caring way, looking intently on Jaune's eyes; at this moment Blake understood why she always stared so much at her and her boyfriend.

"YEAH! We'll break his legs!" Nora added her own thoughts; oddly enough, this earned a supportive nod from Ren.

"Come on, guys! It's not that bad; besides, it's not like he is only a jerk to me, he is a jerk to everyone." Jaune said, making everyone to turn to were team CRDL were; surrounding a girl with bunny ears, clearly harassing her.

"What a freak!" Cardin shamelessly shouted while grabbing one of the bunny ears with as much rudeness as possible, earning a pained yelp from the girl.

"What a horrible person, I can't withstand such…" Pyrrha's speech died in her throat, because she felt movement behind her; it wasn't the feeling of a student getting angry and taking action… it was like an angry god about to destroy every little spec of whatever earned his fury.

Nobunaga, Ranmaru and Mitsuhide watched in mute horror how Kanetsugu raised from his seat in obvious rage, his features no longer resembled the loving and caring monk that everyone knew, but a fury that threatened to swallow the entire academy if he wasn't stopped soon enough. Blake, and most faunus in the proximity were frozen due to their instincts going into overdrive, their need of self-preservation telling them to make every effort to not gain the attention of the greater predator in the room; the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR could only stare in silence at the fast walking Kanetsugu, and while they didn't understand what was going on, they felt that something was going to happen.

"UNHAND HER ALREADY, YOU WORTHLESS MONGRELS!" Kanetsugu shouted half the way to their table, earning the attention of everyone in the cafeteria.

"What?" Cardin asked in a dumbfounded way, obviously surprised by the outburst of the usually calm monk.

"I TOLD YOU TO UNHAND HER!" Kanetsugu shouted as he reached the team of bullies, grabbing Cardin's arm with enough strength to force him to let go of the bunny ear, and to earn a loud pained scream; as soon as the girl was free of Cardin's hand, Kanetsugu pushed him away, making fall to the floor, his team was quick to be by his side, although Cardin made no move to get up, favoring the idea of protecting his injured arm.

"What's wrong with you?!" Cardin shouted, scared for the first time; even he could tell that if not for his aura, he would have a broken arm now, he knew that the tribals meant serious business, but he didn't knew there was a faunus lover among them.

"I will not allow a pure heart to be manhandled by the likes of you, not now, not ever; and to make sure that my message is clear…" Kanetsugu began to talk in what would have amounted to the greatest bout of rage ever recorded; fortunately someone thought on how to stop it.

"Now, now, Kanetsugu; you are scaring our poor senpai with your temper. I know these barbarians should be punished, but it's not worth neither the effort nor the punishment; instead, let's invite our senpai to our table, where she can wait patiently and peacefully for her team to arrive." Nobunaga interrupted, saving team CRDL from a potentially fatal encounter.

"Yes… you are right." Kanetsugu conceded, finally calming down.

"Hummm… thank you…" The girl answered while following Nobunaga and Kanetsugu, leaving behind a very scared and very humiliated team CRDL.

Ruby watched the whole scene in startling silence, then watched Kanetsugu walk back to his seat with an intensity that her teammates could not explain, and when everyone was now settled, she decided to finally explode.

"That was awesome! You really placed them in their place! And rescued a new friend too!" Ruby's childish squeal of happiness dissipated Kanetsugu's anger, making him smile.

"I only wish they'd learn the lesson, and stop their ways." Kanetsugu said, and the bunny girl sighed in relief, she had been afraid of making the red caped girl jealous, and now knew she had made new friends.

"Hi, Velvet. Where is your team?" Blake suddenly talked to the girl, calling her by name.

"Oh, hi there, Blake. Coco got a call from her parents, and Yatsuhashi and Fox got stuck cleaning the classroom after messing up some advanced dust mix; they insisted that I should not be stuck with them and sent me here to eat… it wasn't a very good idea in the end." Velvet explained, showing a very shy side of her personality; the warriors noticed that she had named a dish for one of her teammates, but decided not to comment.

"You know each other?" Weiss suddenly asked, she had been eyeing Velvet since she sat where Blake was supposed to sit; her eyes were not trusting.

"Of course, she gave me directions the first day; the polite thing to do was to remember her name, don't you think?" Blake answered before Velvet had a chance to do so, said bunny girl quickly noticed the bow on Blake's hair, and how bad Weiss was reacting to her presence; it was obvious that Blake was hiding her heritage.

"Weiss, do you have a problem with the hanyou?" Mitsuhide asked in a concerned voice that froze the heiress in her place.

"Hanyou?" Velvet asked with unmasked curiosity; by now Weiss had her face covered with both hands, wishing for some kind of calamity to strike so she doesn't have to face this dilemma.

"Is their word for faunus." Ruby quickly supplied, her vibrant smile ensuring that she was more than happy to help; Velvet nodded in understanding, feeling quite happy to see a human smiling so kindly to her.

"It's not that I have a problem with the faunus… the faunus have a problem with me, with my family. Almost every faunus I have crossed paths have acted in a hostile manner toward me because I'm a Schnee; so forgive me if I don't let my guard down around one." Weiss explained as neutrally as possible, earning surprised stares from her teammates; none seemed pleased.

"If you don't want me here…" Velvet began to say her good bye in a very dejected voice, but wasn't allowed to continue.

"Kanetsugu, could you kindly exchange your place with Velvet-senpai?" Nobunaga quickly asked, and the battle monk quickly obliged; soon Velvet found herself sitting at the side of Nobunaga and Blake, and Kanetsugu between Ruby and Weiss, the former seemed happier than before, while the later showed her surprise.

"It seems that you solved all the unconformities in a single move, Nobu." Blake said as she playfully pinched the cheek of the visionary, it was unclear if that was meant as a reward or as a warning.

"I keep hearing you calling me senpai, what does that mean?" Velvet asked in hopes of moving the conversation to something more friendly.

"It is an honorific, in which we acknowledge you as a superior of sorts." Ranmaru explained, earning a confused stare from the bunny girl.

"It's like calling you senior!" Yang clarified, much to everyone surprise.

"Wait! Do you mean she is a senior student?!" Weiss asked, alarmed at having said what she did to a senior.

"Of course she is! As such she deserves our respect, and our gratitude at any advice she could lend us." Nobunaga dramatically answered, earning a pleased giggled from Blake.

"There is no need to go that far. Being friends would do." Velvet offered, but then winced as she tried to move her bunny ears.

"Are you hurt?" Ruby asked with concern, she guessed that Cardin was more forceful than what she thought at first; Velvet could only put a forced smile as her manhandled ear could not stand straight as the other.

"It's nothing that my aura can't heal over time; I'll be fine in an hour or so." Velvet replied, trying in vain to minimize the magnitude of what had happened.

"Here, let me see to your wound." Kanetsugu suddenly said as he reached for the injured ear; his hands began to glow, and Velvet could feel his caring and warm hand easing the pain on her ear, it took barely a couple of seconds, but her ear not only didn't hurt, it was good as new.

"That was awesome!" Ruby said, again, but this time everyone had to agree.

"You are a healer? Is that your semblance?" Velvet asked, completely amazed at such display of skill.

"I keep hearing about semblances from everyone, and I still don't understand. What I did is nothing but…" Kanetsugu began to explain, but was suddenly interrupted.

"Velvet!" A tall, tan skinned boy called for the bunny girl as he entered the cafeteria.

"Hey, choco-bunny; making new friends?" A girl with a beret and sunglasses called next, she was being followed by a dark skinned red head guy, who seemed too tired to say anything.

"Yatsuhashi! Coco! Fox! Glad you finally made it! And yes, I'm making new friends, they are very kind too!" Velvet replied to the incoming teens, and quickly began introductions; she even mentioned team JNPR, even if they had done nothing so far.

"Well, I'm glad that you are finally making more friends. But let's be honest, I don't believe you haven't been in trouble, so, what did you do to require three teams to save you cute ass?" Coco bluntly asked, making the poor bunny girl blush.

"Nothing really, she was being bullied by Cardin and his cronies, then Nobunaga here invited her to sit with us." Nora resumed the events; if she failed to notice the sudden hostility radiated from team CFVY or not, she didn't tell.

"Bullied?!" Coco was not pleased, and she quickly began to look all over Velvet to find any sign of mistreatment.

"Don't worry, Kanetsugu already healed her." Jaune said, probably trying to diffuse the coming violent situation… but his words had the opposite reaction.

"Excuse me; I'm going to have a word with Cardin." Yatsuhashi spoke with an eerie calm, the kind you expect before the tempest; when he began to go to Cardin, Coco decided to hug Velvet to prevent her from stopping the gentle giant; said bunny girl could only shed a few tears of regret for the violence that was bound to happen due to her inability to hurt others to defend herself.

"Was it something I said?" Jaune asked in an apologetic voice, just to feel Pyrrha's hand on his shoulder, her eyes were supportive, and her smile kind.

"Don't worry, Jaune; you had nothing to do with this." Pyrrha's words brought little comfort to the blonde.

"Indeed; it was Cardin who brought this upon himself." Ren added, just as the screams of team CRDL reached their ears; Nora's cheers didn't help the situation, at all.

With the sounds of team CRDL being punished in the background, the four teams decided to continue their senseless conversation.

Later that night…

The warriors were worried, they did know that the faunus suffered discrimination, but to learn the extent of it, the level of undeserved hate, it was hard to digest…

[This level of hate is nonsense; the kingdom should be ensuring their cooperation, not treating them as a danger.] Mitsuhide suddenly said, knowing that the skills of the faunus put them as a more than desirable ally.

[I agree. But what can we do about it? A revolt is out of question, for that would be following the White Fang; staging a unification could take years, time we don't have.] Nobunaga replied, knowing that he needed to get the faunus to join his cause.

[Maybe we need another point of view, why don't we ask our visitor?] Kanetsugu said while in trance, earning questioning faces from the others; a sudden knock in their door made them jump in surprise, Ranmaru immediately went to the door, with a knife in his hand.

"Who is it?" Ranmaru asked with his pleasant voice, making Mitsuhide shudder at the memories of all the idiots that felt for it, just to find their throats slit open a moment later.

"It's me, Jaune; I need help!" At hearing the plead of the blonde, Ranmaru opened the door to let him inside, discretely placing the knife away.

"What's wrong, Jaune?" Mitsuhide asked, showing concern for the blonde.

"Everything…" Jaune said as he fell to his knees, almost crying. It took about one hour for Jaune to finish his explanation, how he and Pyrrha were talking about starting a romantic relationship, born of their playful afternoon the day of the dates, how he confessed to have cheated to enter the academy, which made him unworthy of such girl; they decided to take a day or two to decide how to proceed, and then Pyrrha went to the dorm, when he was about to follow Cardin appeared, making clear that he knew everything, and that if he didn't want to be known as a cheater, and thus being expelled, he had to do everything that the bully wanted: becoming a punching bag, do all the homework for his team, and help in humiliating Pyrrha. Under other circumstances, Jaune may have tried to solve everything on his own, but with Pyrrha being a target, he simply decided to throw away his dignity as a man.

"Jaune, do you honestly believe that the headmaster doesn't know about your fake transcripts?" Nobunaga asked after Jaune had time to calm down.

"I…" Jaune couldn't form a reply, for he knew that it was ridiculous to think that he had everyone fooled, at most, they decided to let him stay to not make this little hiccup public.

"You are here, because this is where you have to be; we do not hail from any combat school, but we were accepted because the headmaster and his deputy saw potential in us, it stand to reason that they saw potential in you." Nobunaga explained, sounding like a father lecturing his child.

"But… the only thing I can do is to defend with the shield! What kind of potential is that?" Jaune asked in distress, for as much as he wanted to believe those words, he couldn't see himself as more than a looser.

"You can take more punishment than what is required to kill a hundred ursai, that makes you the unassailable walls of the castle that is your team, you have Ren, whose skill and finesse place him as the bow and arrow that can safely attack from behind your defense, Nora is like a heavy ballista, only needed to feel safe behind you to launch her massive shots." Nobunaga continued, earning Jaune's full attention, for it was the first time he grasped the idea of a team, where everyone acted as one.

"Pyrrha should be grateful, because she can fight freely knowing that with you as the castle, she has all the support she needs to be invincible." Ranmaru added, earning a smile from the blonde.

"I guess I saw things from the wrong angle…" Jaune muttered to himself, gaining new clarity to face his own challenges.

"Jaune, as a team leader, you need to learn to find support on your teammates, just as they need to believe in you and your drive to protect them." Mitsuhided gave his support, and that was all what Jaune needed.

"You are right, thank you guys!" Jaune thanked them as he got up, ready to leave and have a long talk with his team.

"Wait a moment, please; there is something that we need your help with." Nobunaga stopped Jaune just as he was reaching for the door.

"Uh? What is it?" Jaune asked, knowing that he needed to help, even if it was just a little thing.

"What is the religious standing about the relationship between humans and faunus?" Kanetsugu was the one who made the question, surprising everyone in the room; Jaune took a thinking pose for a moment, and then began his answer.

"I know very little; most religions treat faunus and humans the same, with only one or two seeing the faunus as inferiors; all of them forbid marriage between the two species though. I know nothing about the faunus religions, so I can't help you there." Jaune answered, earning nods from team NKRA.

"That is enough, thank you." Kanetsugu answered back; with that, Jaune left their room to face his own challenges, leaving a pondering team behind.

[So, we can't turn to their religions to aid our cause…] Mitsuhide said, switching back to their native tongue.

[To their religions, no; but we can start our own.] Nobunaga said in his villainous voice, turning to Kanetsugu, who was meditating again.

[Like ripples in a pond, our actions will only spread the tide of change; if their religions have love not as their fundament, we have to show them the true strength of love.] Kanetsugu stated, and then they began to plot how to approach the headmaster about this situation, for they will need his approval to start their new campaign.

Two days later…

Jaune and his team have become closer, with his confession, and their support, they decided to simply ignore the bullies, and focus on their own advancement; Cardin for his part seemed to not carry on his threats, either because he feared being humiliated because he couldn't beat a fake student, or out of fear of the new and reinforced teamwork shown by team JNPR was up for debate. Today's activity was well received by everyone, as it allowed most students to stretch their legs, take in some beautiful scenery and fresh air, and some couples to hide from preying eyes to shower their beloved ones in some needed love… only team JNPR knew the true nature of this outing.

"Students, welcome to the Forever Fall; today you'll be working in pairs to collect red sap as requested by professor Peach. I'll be supervising you to ensure that nobody dies while doing so." Glynda said to the rather large group of students, of them however, only four knew that this was a cover up to gather the syrup that was still missing…

"Each one of you will collect a jar worth of sap; now remember that this forest is indeed full of the creatures of Grimm, so make sure to be near your teammates. We'll meet here at four o'clock, so have fun." Glynda continued, and allowed the teams to wander around to collect the sap.

"Isn't it a nice day for such a romantic outing?" Nora whispered in a desperate attempt to divert the angry glares of her team.

"Don't say anything." Pyrrha said through clenching teeth, she had yet to forgive her for the day of torture she was subjected to, not that she minded how playful she went with Jaune at the end, but it wasn't enough.

The outing went extraordinarily well, with teams RWBY and NKRA acting as a single group, their synergy was outstanding, to the point of eclipsing every other group of teams from the past, of course Glynda thought that this was due to the formation of couples between said teams; meanwhile team JNPR was doing an exceptional job by collecting far more jars of sap than the rest of the teams…

"Ok, just a few more." Ren said while passing another jar of sap to Nora, he had to admit it, she was containing herself quite well, and so far she only drank two jars, leaving other four untouched.

"I'll have you know that I'm allergic to this stuff, so please, no splashing me with it, ok?" Jaune pleaded as he kept collecting more sap, wanting to make up for whatever mess Nora could be making.

"Jaune, I'll never dare to do so, much less now that I know it'll hurt you." Pyrrha said with a caring voice, internally cursing her luck at how her plan to shower him with sap and then lick it from his body disappeared in an instant.

Up in a small hill, Cardin and his team were looking directly at team JNPR, especially at Pyrrha and Jaune; beating them in combat was impossible, for the champion was invincible, and the tortoise was unbreakable, going to the headmaster with the notice of the fake transcripts was pointless, as they had no evidence, and that would be accepting that Jaune was better than them; so this is what they settled for, a practical heavy joke. The plan was simple, breaking a jar of sap on one of them, and let loose the rapier wasps; two outcomes were possible, the one clean will run away, abandoning the other, separating them forever, or the one clean would stay like an idiot in love, and both would be stung… it was a win-win scenario.

"Ok, now I'll be the one collecting the sap while you watch my behind." Pyrrha said in a poor attempt to imitate Ruby, not that Jaune minded, for he had to admit that Pyrrha was a real beauty, he still didn't believe that she was falling for him though, but the idea of being her toy boy was not bad at all.

"I can do that…" Jaune said with a massive blush, and then began to take turns between watching her behind, and watching her back; it was then that he saw movement from the corner of the eye.

"Jaune about us being…" Pyrrha began to talk as the jar was being filled, but soon found herself being thrown to the ground, closely followed by the sound of glass breaking. A quick inspection revealed that her jar was indeed intact, and then she looked at Jaune, who was falling to the ground face first, completely covered with the red substance.

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha screamed as she went to his side, turning him over to see if he was all right; unfortunately he wasn't, his face was completely swollen, his eyes closed, and he was having trouble to breathe; apparently he forgot to clarify that he was not only allergic to the sap, but violently so.

"Oh no! No no no no no!" Pyrrha started to panic, and began to use her hands to try to clean Jaune as much as she could, then she Heard buzzing, and with eyes filled with horror she watched a dozen of rapier wasps coming their way, obviously lured by the smell of the sap; her mind went blank, unable to decide a course of action other tan sharing this painful fate with the one guy that was all she wanted.

"No…" Jaune weakly said, while using his remaining strength to move and pin Pyrrha under his body; he had chosen to live as a shield, it was only fitting to die like one.

"Jaune, no!" Pyrrha shouted in clear understanding of Jaune's actions, she was about to use her semblance to move him, and then shield his body, when the buzzing sound stopped; she tried to look at the wasps, but instead she only saw Ruby standing there with Crescent Rose in scythe form with all the wasps falling, sliced multiple times; a second later a sonic boom emanated from the petite girl, sending all the sliced wasps away.

"Are you all right?" Kanetsugu was the next to appear, and by seeing him, memories of Velvet being healed rushed to Pyrrha's mind.

"Jaune! He needs help! He is allergic to the red sap, and now is covered in it!" Pyrrha said while moving Jaune to the side, he was getting worse, and he seemed about to stop breathing.

"I'll see what I can do. You try to clean him as fast as possible." Kanetsugu said with his well known calm voice, and then placed his hands over the blonde boy; as the light began to touch him, he began to breathe more easily, but it was hardly enough.

"You! Go and call a medic and Glynda-sensei, now!" Ruby shouted at the first student that arrived, she didn't put Crescent Rose away, she wouldn't allow anything or anyone to attack her friends.

As team CRDL watched the scene below them, they decided that this has spiraled out of control; it was time to put their most common tactic to use: run away.

"Shit! This went bad, we need to go." Cardin said in a low voice, he didn't want to risk being found responsible for this.

"You are right, let's go before someone finds what we did!" Russell added, earning nods from their other teammates.

"Finding what, exactly?" Nobunaga's malevolent voice sounded behind them, forcing them to turn back, just to find not only him, but Blake Belladonna too.

"Maybe they mean hurting a friend of us, severely so." Blake supplied, sounding no less evil than her boyfriend.

"Come on, man! It was supposed to be a practical joke; we didn't know that he was allergic!" Dove said, trying to diminish the impact of their actions.

"Besides he saw it coming, he could have dodged!" Sky added, not saying that it would have been Pyrrha the one affected.

"Of course, and the wasps you brought were only supposed to harmlessly lick the sap from their bodies. Scum like you does not deserve to waste our air, food or time… what says you, my beloved Belladonna?" Nobunaga said as he unsheathed his sword, earning worried glances from team CRDL.

"I say, my dear Nobu… that all this sap could lure out an ursa, getting them by surprise, leaving room for a more… deserving team." Blake said while unsheathing Gambol Shroud, then Nobunaga covered his sword with darkness, showing that they were really serious.

"Hey! You can't do that! We may have thrown that sap at the idiot, and set the wasps on him and the bitch; but you are taking it too far!" Cardin tried to reason with the crazed and evil pair, he didn't know that he has just fallen on a well placed trap.

"So, do you want to add anything else to that confession?" Glynda asked behind them, freezing them in the spot; they no longer held any hope of getting out of this mess…

Later that night, headmaster office…

When Glynda was called by the headmaster, she didn't know what to think, but when she saw him furiously working on a white board, she began to worry, more when she saw the contents of the board:

 **Kanetsugu Naoe, Tribal**

 **Skills: Healing hands, Aura infusion with edible effects, Aura infusion with combat effects. Semblance?**

"Ozpin?" Glynda called, full of worry.

"Oh? Miss Goodwitch, thanks for coming; you'll see, I have keeping track of your favorite students, and I have come to the conclusion that you made a mistake when you assumed that mister Naoe's semblance was to infuse special effects on his paper charms." Ozpin stated in a calm voice, but the message seemed quite messed up.

"Excuse me?" Glynda was shocked, more for the fact of the excessive interest that the headmaster was showing; she decided that at least he wasn't portraying Nobunaga as a villain in training.

"Don't worry; I'm not blaming you, or him. At first I thought that you were right, and that his semblance was rare and powerful; but then, after the rather comic cooking session of their first weekend, he infused some cookies with his aura, if this had been done with the semblance we assumed he had, those cookies would have been explosive in a very different way, instead they seemed to spread positive feelings and good intentions; quite complex for a single semblance, don't you think?" Ozpin began to elaborate his point, but it only seemed to confuse the combat instructor.

"I don't think I'm following you, Ozpin." Glynda said in honest confusion, as complex as Kanetsugu's semblance was, it wouldn't be the first time they have seen one as rare as his.

"A complex semblance can do more than one thing, as long as it is within the same type of action; infusing the paper charms and infusing the cookies certainly seems to fit those criteria, but this?" Ozpin continued his explanation as he called two videos, one showing the moment Kanetsugu healed the ear of Velvet, and another showing how he was stabilizing Jaune at the Forever Fall.

"That… is not aura infusion…" Glynda muttered as she saw Kanetsugu using his aura to heal wounds.

"You told me that the first time you asked to record how he makes his charms you were denied; why was that?" Ozpin asked in a rather cryptic way.

"Because it was a matter of… religion…" Glynda became speechless as her mind clicked at what the headmaster was getting at.

"Yes, indeed. What we have here is a religious teaching, one that can be passed to others, that can be spread to the hunters. Imagine it, at least one in a team of four, knowing how to heal severe wounds, how to make powerful explosive traps to use accordingly to the situation, that can infuse food to make long trips easier." Ozpin began to gain strength on his speech, perhaps too much.

"Ozpin, we can't…" Glynda was about to warn the headmaster about pressing the issue, but the headmaster just raised his hand in a placating gesture.

"We won't try to force it, you can rest assured of that; but he is a monk, sooner or later he will want to build a shrine. When the time comes, I think we should accept his religion with an open mind, and allow him to make use of one of the empty classrooms or store houses; encouraging people to take a taste of his religion, and if possible, recording his teachings." Ozpin elaborated his plan, a very solid plan, and as much as Glynda liked how it sounded, there was something at the back of her mind that told her that the headmaster didn't had the best intentions in mind… she scratched that thought though, there was no way that Ozpin had hiding intentions, right?.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Well, I hope you liked it. By the way, I have to inform you that my hatred for the villains has reached critical mass, there will be no happy ending for them, you can bet on that, those who know how cruel I can be, can begin to imagine what horrible fate awaits them. Nobody makes such a cute girl cry while hurting another innocent girl in the same episode, not without earning my wrath.


	11. The Voice of the Heavens

**Magnus:** Welcome to the new chapter, for those who hadn't figured it yet, season 3 will not roll the same, but let's not get ahead of things, ok?

 **Disclaimer:** If I write something nonsensical, will someone notice?

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

 **The Voice of the Heavens.**

For two months, Glynda Goodwitch worked on her book, making regular interviews with the members of team NKRA; interviewing Mitsuhide was easy, as she simply joined him and Weiss in their regular tea parties, where she insisted in knowing more about Edo, and while Weiss liked those topics, she was less than pleased to have her private party invaded; Ranmaru was a little bit harder to deal with, not because he was uncooperative, but because Yang almost always was with him, and always tried to guide the interview to somewhere that Glynda didn't like; Nobunaga represented a different kind of challenge, as it had become impossible to find him separated from Blake, said girl loved all Edo related things, but it was incredible distracting to see them acting all romantic while in the middle of the interview…

The only chapter left to fill was about religion, and that was a real challenge, not because Kanetsugu was uncooperative, but because his wording, his definitions, and understanding of things required not only a very open mind, but a very long time to spare for a full lecture of his teachings; that's why she not only agreed with Ozpin about allowing the battle monk to have a place for a shrine, but also volunteered herself to help in the gathering of resources and construction of the same…

"Are you sure this will be enough?" Glynda asked, not with concern, but with confusion; she expected the shrine to be something gaudy, extravagant and luxurious, like most religions she knew of; instead the small and unused classroom was simply adorned with Edo writings, candles and incense, the most luxurious thing was that the floor was covered in Edo rugs, or tatami, as Kanetsugu called them.

"It will suffice; the true content of a shrine is the voice of the heavens, and the ones who listen to it." Kanetsugu replied, while placing the final piece of the shrine, a large canvas with the same symbol that adorned his helmet, the kanji for love.

"I see. I'm curious though, to what god or goddess is this shrine dedicated to?" Glynda asked what was bugging her; she had previously learned that Kanetsugu knew several divine figures, so it puzzled her to not see any painting or statue of any of them.

"This shrine is dedicated to love, in its most pure and meaningful sense; to tie such a beautiful thing to a single deity would make no sense, instead, I prefer to believe that it is the fundament that all religions should be based upon." Kanetsugu's reply was enough to silence the combat instructor; it was simple and beautiful, just as it was overwhelming; that also explained why it was a humble shrine, it was meant as an invitation to any and all faiths, to any and all people.

"I understand… so, what kind of activities will take place here?" Glynda asked after a few minutes, in which she watched Kanetsugu set a low table and a bag with diverse items.

"This is mostly a place for meditation, it will also serve me as a peaceful place to keep working on my charms; if anyone want to learn, I'll be able to answer questions and spread the teachings of the voice of the heavens; additionally, a dedicated place for divination will greatly help to understand the visions of things to come." Kanetsugu's explanation confused the combat instructor even more; she thought that the battle monk would spend countless hours preaching in the gardens to get people, instead he was going to sit and wait, she suddenly had the idea of helping him a little, maybe sending a couple of students his way to help in little things, so they would spread that they hear or see…

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked as she suddenly appeared, leaning against the back of the monk, and looking over his shoulder; Glynda's mind came at a crashing halt as she couldn't tell when or how the scythe wielder entered the classroom.

"Making more paper charms; this magic paint is powerful, but it burns the paper in a single use, so I have to make as many as possible." Kanetsugu casually replied, smiling at the leader of team RWBY; it was incredible how close their faces were, almost as if they wanted to kiss on accident…

"Can I help you?" Ruby asked in her childish voice; Glynda rolled her eyes, even if the girl was close to the battle monk, she doubted that such a powerful teaching would be disclosed so easily…

"Of course, let me explain you how to do it." Kanetsugu replied, making Glynda's jaw drop; for a mere second she found herself in a very dire dilemma, either go and search more students to spread this technique, or stay and watch to learn herself… before she even tried to decide, she had already taken out a notebook to take notes…

Girl's restroom…

Blake sighed happily, her life had made a turn for the best, and she had enjoyed the sweetness and passion of the visionary to the fullest; kisses, hugs, words of love, and a little bit of lust, and to make things even better, he had proposed that the day she decided to reveal her nature as a faunus, he will hug and kiss her passionately in front of everyone…

"He is so perfect…" Blake muttered to herself, and yet, her image in the mirror looked back at her, as if asking what she had done to deserve such life, such lover; what was she doing to ensure that he won't leave as soon as he noticed that almost everyone was better than her?

"Maybe I should…" Blake began to mutter, but got interrupted by another girl entering the restroom, one with bunny ears.

"Oh, Blake! Do you have a minute?" Velvet asked with urgency, so much that she didn't notice Blake making a placating gesture toward an odd direction, in fact, she didn't noticed Ranmaru looking from afar through the window, getting ready to break in and protect Blake.

"Yeah, sure; what do you need, senpai?" Blake replied, enjoying the opportunity to use more Edo speech.

"Well, I was wondering a couple of things… you'll see, I and other faunus are worried about you; Nobunaga is obviously human, and while he is quite nice to faunus in general… I just wanted to ask if he already knows about you being one of us, and if you need help in dealing with that issue." Velvet shyly asked, earning a surprised stare from the cat girl, which quickly turn into a soft laugh.

"Oh, Velvet! Thanks for caring so much, but don't worry, he knows very well that I'm a faunus; he even loves to pet my cat ears when we… ahem! As I was saying, there is nothing to worry about, ok?" Blake replied, stopping herself from saying too much; although by Velvet's blush, she had already figured what she didn't say.

"I see… that is a relief! But Blake… are you sure you are fine with someone, you know, not un-bloodied?" Velvet asked with apprehension, for this was a delicate topic among faunus; her apprehension became fear when she noticed Blake's frown.

"Life in the nomad tribes is harsh and hard, full of danger and drawn to blood. As I was honest with him, he was honest to me; I know he has spilled blood, just as much as he knows I'm far from perfect, or even acceptable, but our love has transcended all of this; so yes, I'm perfectly fine with the knowledge that he has killed before, with the knowledge that he won't hesitate to do so again if the need arises." Blake's answer was not only harsh, but theatrical and dramatic; Velvet could only shrink at the intensity displayed by the cat faunus, but she had yet to ask her most important question, the one that forced her to track down Blake to begin with.

"I just wanted to make sure, I'm not judging; but there is something I really need to ask, so please be truthful." Velvet pleaded in a way that Blake couldn't resist.

"Very well, ask." Blake replied while narrowing her eyes, ready to defend her beloved one, although in a much less ferocious way than what she knew Nobunaga would be.

"How did you manage to convince him to accept you as a faunus?" Velvet asked with just so much hope in her eyes, something that caught Blake off guard.

"Eh? Why are you asking me that?" Blake asked, trying to dodge the question, as she wasn't ready to tell the world that the soul kiss was real, and with rather long lasting, and pleasant, consequences.

"Well, I have my eyes on certain someone, and…" Velvet began to explain her situation, and Blake knew she had to make a good story about how she and the visionary got together, hopefully without telling her about what they actually did.

Outside…

"Don't you think you are taking this lord and lady thingy too far?" Yang asked to Ranmaru, who was still up in a tree, overlooking the only window in the restroom.

"Nothing is too little or too much to ensure the safety of my lord and lady; you should already know that." Ranmaru replied, he had to admit that this school was very safe for both Nobunaga and Blake, more now that team CRDL had been warned that a single complain would see them expelled.

"You looked ready to hurt Velvet." Yang warned.

"I'm always ready to hurt any fool that has ill intentions toward my lord and lady." Ranmaru replied, but it sounded as if 'hurt' was not what he meant.

"Would you hurt me if I punch Blake during a fight?" Yang asked with a little bit of worry in her voice; they had become something odd, more than friends, close to a couple, but no quite there, and she felt that this loyalty may be something she wouldn't compete against.

"Would you hurt me if I attack Ruby?" Ranmaru retorted, with that devious smile of his; Yang could not reply, because she understood the real meaning of that 'hurt' word, then she understood the level of care that Ranmaru has, and that she was not in position to judge it.

"Do not misunderstand me; I know that you will not hurt Blake if you two were to fight during a sparring session, and I know you would not hurt her during a spite. I believe that you two are good friends, and I believe that you two will care for each other; that's why I will never doubt your ties as a team, thus, I know I can entrust her safety to you." Ranmaru explained as he descended the tree, his voice was now caring, and that brought comfort to the blonde brawler.

"I don't know, I couldn't protect my little sister from her hormones… now she is all about Kanetsugu this, Kanetsugu that… tsugu-tsugu…" Yang began to mutter, a little bit incoherently due to the fact that she didn't know how to feel about her sister and her taste on men; on one side the guy was obviously not a pervert and had yet to do something remotely close to intimate to Ruby, on the other, everything he does, including mannerisms and corny heroic lines, seemed to be extremely effective to seduce her sister.

"It is true that a rose bud is a tender and cute thing to have, but, is it really worth sacrificing the true beauty of a full blossomed rose to keep a bud that won't be able to produce more flowers? Wouldn't that be paramount to kill what you want to protect?" Ranmaru asked, and then Yang began to shed tears.

"But I don't want to lose her!" Yang suddenly cried, and then turned away to hide the tears that she couldn't stop.

"Why would you think you'll lose her?" Ranmaru asked as he hugged her, Yang stiffened at the touch, but immediately relaxed.

"I already lost two mothers… I don't want to see the only good thing I have left die because she grows up and decides to give her life for some reason or another; our uncle may be a hero, but I prefer to see my sister safe at home than to visit a memorial stone to remember her." Yang's words moved Ranmaru's heart, so he began to gently rock her.

"If that is the case, why don't you ask Kanetsugu to protect her? If he promises that, I assure you that he would rather die than to allow a single scratch to get to your sister; believe me, if my lord couldn't best him in a duel, I doubt that anything in this world would be able to do so." Ranmaru stated, and Yang turned around to face him, she didn't break the embrace though.

"You seem awfully good at this… did you lose family too?" Yang asked with a sad smile. Ranmaru took a moment to reply, as memories of his entire clan being slaughtered passed through his mind.

"You could say that." Ranmaru replied, although he didn't say anything about his rather happy memories.

By the door of the restroom…

Nobunaga was not as happy as he would like, it wasn't only that Blake was in the restroom, for he understood the rules and her need to have privacy for her female needs, neither he feared for her safety, as he knew that Ranmaru would do his job if there was any need for it; what was bothering the visionary was the task ahead, he needed to speed up the spread of Kanetsugu's teachings, unfortunately he knew that monk would not do so himself, he also needed to create an impact so big that it would echo through the entire kingdom to draw more people to the teachings of the voice of the heavens; Blake revealing her nature and him declaring perpetual love, and perhaps marriage seemed perfect, but the cat faunus was not ready to make that jump…

"Waiting for Blake?" Yatsuhashi asked as he approached Nobunaga, his walk and stance provided sufficient evidence that he was being friendly and cordial.

"Of course, we try to stay together as much as possible; although I don't think I need to explain that to you, as it is obvious that you are here to wait for Velvet-senpai." Nobunaga asked in a sudden epiphany, if he couldn't push Blake to act, for them and for their mission, he could push someone else.

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Yatsuhasi replied in a way that seemed evasive, but his eyes, and the beginnings of a blush on his cheeks, proved that Nobunaga had found his prey.

"I'm sorry, senpai; but with the way you look at her, and how you protect her, I thought that you two were happily together." Nobunaga said in a very devious way, making sure to sound as if in confusion, and yet accusatory enough.

"We aren't a couple, and I assure you that I care for her like I care for… was I that obvious?" Yatsuhashi asked in defeat, he liked the bunny girl; there was no way to deny it.

"Well, I can say that not more obvious than her; she really smiles a lot while looking at you. So, what is stopping you two?" Nobunaga's words brought a smile to the tall boy, but that was quickly replaced by a sad look.

"I don't know how it works for the nomad tribes, but here a mixed couple is greatly frowned upon; I don't care if I become a pariah for loving her, but I can stand the idea of her being the target of the different religious orders." Yatsuhashi explained, picking up the interest of the visionary.

"Isn't there a religion that allows your love? Religious institutions prosecute anyone, even if not a part of their religions?" Nobunaga quickly tackled two issues, earning a surprised reaction from the gentle giant.

"Religious institutions do not prosecute anyone, but many of their practitioners do punish those who commit taboo. As for a religion that allows the union of a faunus and a human… I believe that the practitioners of the Oum monomyth do not forbid such a thing, but they actively discourage it." Yatsuhashi replied, sounding depressed at the idea of never going that far with the girl that unknowingly stole his heart.

"I see… in that case, why don't you and Velvet-senpai visit Kanetsugu? He must have finished his shrine already, and most likely would have an answer for your dilemma." Nobunaga's reply made Yatsuhasi's face illuminate with hope, although he still had his doubts.

"Do you have a religion that allows marriage between faunus and humans?" Yatsuhashi asked, wanting to clarify things before his hopes were crushed; at this, Nobunaga let out a startling chuckle.

"It is more like we never had a religion that punished us for that; but don't worry, you'll understand when you talk to him." Nobunaga answered, just at the same time that the two faunus girls came out of the restroom.

"Sorry for making you wait, Nobu." Blake said as she almost jumped into his waiting arms, his response was to lock his lips with hers.

"Hi there, Yatsu." Velvet greeted the gentle giant with a shy voice, said guy's hart skipped a beat when she called him with such pet name for the first time; he decided that visiting the battle monk was the next stop, making Coco angry for being late may be worth it if he finds a chance to be closer to the bunny girl of his dreams.

Academy gardens…

Weiss was nervous, for some time she had been actively avoiding a certain topic during her tea parties with Mitsuhide, and while she hated how miss Goodwitch invaded them, she had to admit that such interruptions helped greatly to dodge the problem; right now, however, she felt that her luck just ran out, Mitsuhide had THAT face, the one he uses for something serious.

"We need to address your issue, Weiss." Mitsuhide said with an extremely serious voice, it wasn't harsh, but it still gave her the Goosebumps.

"What issue? Do you want more tea?" Weiss tried to dodge the issue, but failed miserably.

"Weiss, I'm not judging what you feel toward the faunus, I'm judging that such feeling are not your own." Mitsuhide stated, freezing the heiress where she was.

"Not my own?" Weiss weakly asked, she already had a hunch about where this was going, and she didn't like it.

"I believe you told me the truth, that your father is not the role model you want to follow, that you want to be your own person; I also believe you were truthful when you said that he was not a good person when dealing with the faunus. Now tell me, why are you following in his steps?" Mitsuhide's question forced Weiss to rethink everything she was, and she began to cry.

"I want to be a better person, I really want to; but I'm a Schnee, and so long I'm one, the faunus will hate me!" Weiss replied, sounding hurt, but that didn't move Mitsuhide.

"I have yet to see any sign of hostility from any faunus within the academy grounds, and all of them know your name." Mitsuhide retorted, although it didn't sound aggressive.

"And I have been hostile to them all this time, haven't I?" Weiss replied, tears still flowing as she began to understand.

"Yes; but not openly so. You still have a chance to win their hearts, and become the woman you want to be." Mitsuhide stated, bringing a glimmer of hope to the heiress, even if it was very small.

"I'm not sure how to even begin, I thought that becoming the best huntress would grant some positive attention, but being a Schnee is supposed to mean being the very best, and that won't be appreciated by anyone, and I'm not talking about just the faunus." Weiss replied, wanting to believe that she was still on time to walk away from the path laid for her.

"If all that stands in your way is being a Schnee, why don't you stop being one?" Mitsuhide casually asked, and Weiss stared at her tea wide eyed; many times she had entertained the idea, and every time she discarded it as something childish, favoring the dream of cleaning her family name… this was the first time she began to seriously consider the option…

"There are three ways I could do that. The first is to simply become emancipated, declaring myself a citizen of Vale for protection, but that would make my father retaliate, maybe going as far as to overcharge the trade of dust, hurting the kingdom for my actions. The second would be to be disowned, although I'm not willing to do something hideous to earn that, and I'm not going to get pregnant from a random faunus to get the same effect. The third would be to get married, and earn the name of my husband, all without the approbation of my father… I'm not sure if anyone would be brave or stupid enough to go with that plan though." Weiss explained, trying to analyze all the possibilities.

"Marriage would be the best option, as it would give you resources to sustain yourself." Mitsuhide replied without a second thought, making Weiss choke on her tea; it took her more than a minute to regain her composure.

"That's easy to say, but there is another thing, the government would not sign my papers out of fear of my father… although maybe a temple would… I believe that here in Vale the religious institutions have enough power to make that kind of papers legal." Weiss began to form a plan on her head, it would be risky, and there was always the chance that the priest would refuse out of fear too.

"If you are afraid that your father may disrupt your marriage, you can ask Kanetsugu to be the priest; I would like to see anyone try to stop him, which would be fun to watch." Mitsuhide calmly stated, making Weiss' jaw drop.

"He has authority for that?!" Weiss asked, surprised out of her mind.

"Of course! Not only is he a battle monk, he is also a priest." Mitsuhide replied, and that made Weiss to look worried.

"Wouldn't that mean he cannot marry? I mean, Ruby seems really attached to him, and I wouldn't like to give this notice to her…" Weiss showed her worry for her team leader, but this only seemed to confuse the samurai.

"Why would that stop him from forming a family? How do the priests of this region spread the seeds for more priests then?" Mitsuhide asked, mildly alarmed; meanwhile Weiss face palmed at her own stupidity, for she forgot that different religions of different cultures would have different standards.

"I'm sorry, since some religions forbid their priests and priestess to form families, I assumed that the religions of your culture would do something like that too… but then, how come someone like him was not already taken? If not for Ruby being all over him every day, I have no doubt that some other girl may already have claimed him." Weiss reply earned a sad face from the samurai, one that alarmed the heiress, as she didn't know she just touched a wound.

"Kanetsugu is very different, even from us; you need to understand that our lives before coming here were different, and there is a chance we cannot return to them. Kanetsugu was in an arranged marriage, he was supposed to marry one month after the event that started our journey." As Mitsuhide began to explain, Weiss had to cover her mouth to prevent a scream from going out; this was a sad thing, because she had an understanding about what an arranged marriage was, and the fact that the date had already expired only made things worse.

"It is my fault that he joined us in our travels, so it's my fault that he is not the married man he wanted to be… we haven't talked about it, so I don't know how he feels about it, or how he really feels about starting a family here." Mitsuhide continued, and the newly shed tears from Weiss were filled with sadness.

"Make no mistake; I'm certain that he loves Ruby, maybe more than what you and I could comprehend… it's just that we cannot expect him to act in any way we can consider normal. We need to talk to Ruby about this, and how she should approach him; if she wants to marry him, she must be direct, and be ready to walk that path to the very end." Mitsuhide's words made sense to a degree; the guy had lost an opportunity to have a wife, which for the nomad tribes has to be extremely important, so it stood to reason that he didn't want to take chances, and expected the next woman of his life to be permanent.

"I see… I'll make sure to speak with Ruby." Weiss replied, she had a lot to think about, and she didn't want to deliver a fatal blow to her leader.

In the shrine…

Glynda Goodwitch's mind had been blown several times during the short time that the shrine had opened its doors, first by Kanetsugu agreeing to teach Ruby something so special, and now by giving a lecture to what she supposed was a secret couple. The teaching of the paper charms happened to be something so simple that it shamed her to not have theorized it long ago; it only used the same principle of the aura unlocking ritual, in which one pours his or her aura into another person to touch the soul of the target, the only difference being that the target was not alive, and with no soul, so instead of touching, one just had to leave an echo of an order, of a feeling within the paper, which would, in theory, react with the dust left in the patterns drawn at a later date, she was sure that the specific materials used had a lot to do with the results though.

The arrival of the couple had been more interesting, more when they revealed that it was Nobunaga who pointed them in this direction; their question was simple, and yet overwhelming, they wanted to know if it was wrong for humans and faunus to love each other; for generations that question had caused discomfort, rage, despise, and even a couple of families to break apart, making it taboo among the government and the different religions; Kanetsugu seemed to not care for such troubles though…

"There is nothing wrong with love, there cannot be. The moment you decided to join this order of warriors that fight against the darkness, you declared your love for all living things, human and faunus included; the moment you agreed to live together, to fight together, to bleed together, you declared your love for each other; in the eyes of the heavens, there is nothing but love between you two. Wrong would be the lack of love." Kanetsugu explained his point, like an aged priest that had seen beyond human limitations, beyond the philosophers of the time… he also, unknowingly or not, did spit in the face of religion and politics.

"Umm… we were actually asking about, you know, marriage." Velvet said while blushing; she had loved Kanetsugu's words, as those could be used to start a new campaign for the rights of the faunus, but right now she wanted something more personal.

"We wanted to know if your religion allows such a thing." Yatsuhashi tried to sound less obvious, but the plead in his voice gave him away, and that almost made Glynda laugh; it earned a chuckle from the monk, though.

"Why would someone oppose the union between such a lovely couple? Why are you so afraid of facing opposition? My children, your souls sing together in love! If no one wants to approve of your marriage, I will! I'll even hold the ceremony for you if the need arises!" Kanetsugu's words brought a massive wave of hope for the odd couple, an took away Glynda's breath; that was daring, and revolutionary, she didn't thought that Ozpin had seen this coming.

"You can hold the ceremony?!" Yatsuhashi asked with a ridiculously high amount of hope in his voice; Velvet's blush only accentuated how much they wanted to be together, unfortunately Glynda found herself in need to stop things before they escalated out of control.

"I'm sorry to bring a halt to such beautiful plans, but Kanetsugu's religion still has to be authorized by the council to be recognized as an official religion of the kingdom, until then, I'm afraid that he won't be given authority to carry such procedures… of course I'm not saying that you can't be recognized as a couple, and find refugee within this shrine." Glynda explained with a heavy heart, she, more than Ozpin himself, wanted to see this nonsensical taboo removed as such; then she noticed that Ruby looked at her with a little bit of anger, that the paper charm she had been working on just bursted in flames didn't help with the picture.

"It's not fair; I wanted to see bunny babies…" Ruby muttered, turning Velvet to a color that matched her namesake, and caused Yatsuhashi to faint with an awkward smile in his face.

"BUNNY BABIES?!" Everyone turned to the source of the scream, just to find a wide eyed Coco Adel; she had been looking for her missing teammates, with the idea of punishing them for being late, now she couldn't care less about the reason she wanted them to be on time to begin with, her brain shut down to all things team related, and could only conjure images of little and adorable 'choco-bunnies' to which she could put in countless set of clothes and then guide them to have ice-cream and watch kid shows… then she went crazy…

"When is the wedding?!" Coco asked with urgency, already picturing herself playfully nibbling countless of little bunny ears.

"Miss Goodwitch says there can be no wedding until the council approves of Kanetsugu's religion…" Ruby said with a mighty pout, that she didn't called Glynda with the sensei honorific made the combat instructor flinch.

"Calm down, Ruby. We have to respect the laws of the land, and be patient. Love can't be stopped, you can be sure of that." Kanetsugu said as he patted Ruby's head, earned a small giggle form the red caped girl; Glynda decided to not say that such need to wait was not in the laws; she didn't want to gain more negative points in front of her favorite students.

"Waiting my ass! I'm calling my daddy to push the old coots in the right direction!" Coco yelled as she reached for her scroll; her father said that he could pull the strings of the council, so she thought that this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

Meanwhile, Velvet decided to remain quiet, knelt down and holding Yatsuhashi's head on her lap; she wasn't willing to tell Ruby that she could wait for the graduation to get married if that was the case, much less tell Coco that a mixed couple had the same chances to have a human baby than a faunus one… much less she would say no to Yatsuhashi's proposal once he regained consciousness, at the least, she could act like Blake behind closed doors…

"Wedding?! Is someone getting married?! Can we get married here at the academy?!" Nora asked like a machinegun as she showed her head from the side of the room… Glynda had the sudden realization that Kanetsugu will need very little help to have his religion known among the students.

Headmaster's office…

Ozpin was smiling, for the first time since the beginning of the term, he felt that things were going as he wanted; Kanetsugu had agreed to all his conditions to open the shrine, obviously most of his conditions were left unsaid, left to assumption, like the cameras, which he had told the monk that were there to always keep an eye on his shrine, to prevent vandalism or theft, that they also serve to record all his teachings and procedures was conveniently omitted; allowing anyone to enter and learn had been coincidentaly among the things both wanted, just as to allow everyone to spread what they learn with him.

Despite all of this, Ozpin couldn't shake the feeling that something was not quite right… the way that Nobunaga sent Yatsuhashi and Velvet to the shrine seemed almost evil; it could be a way of testing waters before making his move with miss Belladonna, or it could be a way to test how much he wanted to get a hold of Kanetsugu's teachings… either way, he could do nothing but to wait and watch, for he could not afford to alienate the battle monk, not after successfully making a paper charm on his own…

"Very well, mister Oda, lets believe we can walk in the same direction without attacking each other…" Ozpin muttered as he reached for his scroll; while he was not as excited as some students at the prospect of young marriage, he was more than willing to make use of the installations designed for maternal care that hadn't been used for two generations; huntsmen and huntresses were declared adults the moment they pass the initiation, for they are marked as ready to die for the kingdom, as such, marriages and pregnancies were supposed to happen at a young age, even if these were peaceful times.

"Honorable councilmen, in a couple of hours I will be passing a proposal to adopt a religion from Edo, and I would like this proposal to be reviewed with celerity, as it includes teachings that will greatly benefit not only the huntsmen and huntresses, but the kingdom as a whole." Ozpin said as he contacted the council; his calm voice and features made it clear that this was a mere formality, that he would get what he wanted no matter what, and still, it carried the message that he wanted this to be granted as soon as possible.

"Ah, yes. We were wondering when would you call us… is this the same religion that Mister Adel called us for? Did you know that this religion includes some outrageous teachings, like allowing marriage between faunus and humans? Don't you think that it was enough with the Oum Monomyth?" One of the councilmen stated, obviously finding the religion distasteful.

"Do I have to remember you that banning a religion that has such pure beliefs can be considered as repression?" Ozpin asked, knowing that he had won.

"A most serious accusation." Another councilman stated, as if alarmed.

"I understand your distaste, but believe me, what is to the great scheme of things a small religion with a small flock of people willing to treat the faunus as equals and love them, compared to the benefit of wielding more power than the other kingdoms combined?" Ozpin offered, making the councilmen shift in their seats.

"Can we assume you'll record all the procedures to get this power, so we can ignore the religious teachings somewhere in the future?" A female member of the council asked, earning nods from the others.

"I already began the recording, ignoring the religious teachings is up to personal preference." Ozpin replied, although he was making plans to turn Kanetsugu's religion into something bigger, something to engulf all the kingdoms… eventually, after he had secured the best things for Vale.

"Very well, we'll see to it that this religion is accepted, although we would like to have a word with the main priest of this religion, for there are some things we want to keep regulated." The leader of the council finally spoke, trying to force some degree of control over the new teachings.

"I can arrange that, but believe me, there is nothing to regulate about the voice of the heavens." Ozpin finalized, making sure to correctly pronounce the name of the religion; as he cut communications, he began to let out a small chuckle…

"There is no need to control or regulate something when it works perfectly for the greater good." Ozpin said with a satisfied smile, but it didn't last; he has yet to have a word with miss Schnee, her talk with Mitsuhide was worrisome, he could applaud her determination to escape her father's path, but he could see how wrong this could turn for his academy, for the SDC was the only company that supplied Beacon for a more or less fair price… this would require some delicate maneuvering.

"A new and extremely powerful religion of the light, huntsmen and huntresses wielding the unstoppable power of the spirit, an invincible prophet… and soon our own maiden. How will you compete against that with your toys of war, old friend?" Ozpin asked to the window as he took a sip from his mug.

* * *

 **Magnus:** After seeing the las episode of RWBY, I now know that Adam has just won the worse ending of all the villains in my story, there is no way to stop it now.


	12. The Stray

**Magnus:** I'm sorry for the delay, but I couldn't touch these chapters without a heartache. I really loved Penny, and I swear she is going to have a very happy ending.

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned RWBY... the end of season 3 would not have run that way.

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

 **The Stray**

The shrine of love has been open for almost three months, and in that time, it had become a popular spot for the open minded and the tolerant, to the point where Ozpin was amazed; the council of course accepted Kanetsugu's religion, but with the condition that it had to survive for a whole year before the monk was accepted as a full priest, with all the authority entitled, such news were not accepted or appreciated by many students, and a couple of teachers.

As for the teachings, Ozpin had to admit that they were interesting, and very much welcomed, for the battle monk always spoke in a way that left clear that there was no room for arguments, even intolerant people like team CRDL couldn't deny the truth of his words: Huntsmen and Huntresses risked their lives every day for all people, both humans and faunus, and thus, they fought for their love to all of them; the faces on all students that had heard that line was memorable, for the monk destroyed moral walls without even trying, without even knowing.

Then just a week ago something happened; as it was obvious, only one person could not handle all that was the management of a shrine, so Kanetsugu did the most logical thing, he recruited people to help in maintaining it, and spread his teachings… and who else but the most controversial couple of the school: Velvet and Yatsuhashi… that almost got a complaint against the school by some parents, but to Ozpin, it was well worth it.

"Well worth it indeed…" Ozpin muttered as he watched his hand glow with the healing power of his own aura, a power that now could be used on any living thing, and not only on himself… it didn't hold a candle to what Kanetsugu could do, for it actually required the use of large quantities of aura to even heal minor wounds, but it certainly was a massive help in the field, for now hunters could heal the wounds of companions that had run out of aura, or civilians during rescue missions.

"More than worthy…" Ozpin muttered again as he took a bite of some delicious fresh bread, which instantly replenished the aura expended in the healing technique. He idly noted the successful students on these techniques…

"Velvet, Jaune, Ruby and Glynda seems the most advanced, let's hope more get up to speed." Ozpin finally said as he looked at the ones attending Kanetsugu's teachings; he noted that in fact, only the ones attending got the techniques right, as the battle monk explained that the results of the techniques were closely tied to one's feelings; that explained all the beneficial effects, for the students with most success seemed to be crazy in love with another person… he stopped right there, and looked intently at Glynda…

"Does that mean that you are in love too? But with who?" Ozpin said to himself with wide eyes; he promptly decided to not delve into it, it wasn't his place to criticize such things. Ozpin then checked the cameras of the shrine, and noticed that it was Yatsuhashi who was helping people to read the Edo writings in the walls, then he remembered that both teams RWBY and NKRA had gone to the city in a group outing; he decided to wait until their return to continue his observations, and then proceeded to have his own practice on calligraphy, he really wanted to do a better paper charm, already planning scenarios were a well placed explosive mine could help in saving people, or preventing a disaster…

At the city…

The streets were bustling with activity, banners and other decorations were hung from the windows of business, lampposts and street lights; the mood in the people was bright, happy and slightly competitive, and the reason for all of this was a most important event in the horizon…

"Oh! The Vytal Festival! This is going to be absolutely wonderful!" Weiss exclaimed as she took in all the preparations, showing a rather uncommon face.

"I think I've never have seen you smile like this before, Weiss; it's kind of freaking me out…" Ruby stated with a little bit of worry in her voice.

"Why? I think it is a beautiful smile, and makes her shine every time she does it." Mitsuhide said in Weiss' defense, much to the annoyance of the group.

"Great, I can't wait to see you two starting a clan of stuck up and haughty people." Ranmaru sarcastically said, earning chuckles from both teams, and a faint blush from the white pair.

"Oh, shut it you! Besides, how can't you be smiling? It is a festival dedicated to the cultures of the world, and that includes Edo!" Weiss continued with her joyful tirade, not caring to correct Ranmaru on his assumption.

"There will be a tournament, dances and the official announcement of Glynda-sensei's book! The level of organization displayed is simply breath taking." Weiss finished, showing that even she was using the language brought by the samurai warriors.

"You sure know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." Yang suddenly said, making Ranmaru laugh at her jab.

"If you can't appreciate the efforts of organized men and women to make this festival so delectable, you shouldn't judge those who can." Mitsuhide defended once more, making Weiss giggle, and Yang growl.

"As interesting as this is, what does that have to do with us spending our Friday afternoon in the docks?" Nobunaga asked, as dramatically as it was possible, preventing more hostility to be shown, even if it was a playful one.

"Ugh! It smells like fish!" Ruby said with obvious distaste, while Blake was doing her best to not show her watering mouth.

"I've heard that students of Vaccuo will arrive by ship today, and as representative of Beacon, I felt it was my duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom." Weiss explained in what could only be an exaggeration of her real intentions.

"She wants to spy on them so she can have the upper hand in the coming tournament." Blake suddenly said, exposing the heiress; Nobunaga had to admit it was a sound strategy, but didn't dare to praise another woman that wasn't his catgirl.

"You can't prove that!" Weiss said in a futile attempt to hide her intentions, making everyone roll their eyes. It was then that Ruby got everyone's attention, for she looked too intently at a business that had been robbed, if the ungodly amount of yellow tape was any indication; the group was quick to reach the crime scene, where a pair of policemen was taking notes, and gathering evidence, what little it was.

"What happened?" Ruby asked, concerned when she noticed the name of the store.

"Robbery, second dust shop to be hit this week; this city is turning into a jungle." One of the policemen replied, obviously tired at doing his job, thing that team NKRA didn't approve.

"That's terrible…" Yang muttered, obviously stressed at seeing the hidden reality of their city.

"With all the cameras you'd think the city would be safer." Mitsuhide suddenly said, getting the attention of team RWBY, for that little detail had become so common, that it was mostly overlooked.

"They may have many eyes, but maybe they don't have enough hands?" Nobunaga was quick to add, sending everyone into a thinking position.

"They left all the money again." One officer stated, returning the attention of both teams to the crime scene.

"Yeah, this doesn't make sense." The other officer replied, obviously puzzled at the evidence.

"Who need that much dust?" When that question came up, Nobunaga frowned; this sounded like the preparations for something big, the ones who committed this crime didn't need money, but resources, that means either they are rich and didn't want to be tracked, or they plan to make money inconsequential…

"I don't know… the army?" That answer seemed to confirm Nobunaga's suspicion; a quick glance at Kanetsugu was enough to see that he and the battle monk will have a long chat about this.

"You thinking the… ah… White Fang?" With that question, both Weiss and Blake frowned, but for very different reasons.

"Yeah, I don't think we are paid enough" With that final answer the policemen returned to their duties, whatever they were.

"Hn, the White Fang; what a bunch of degenerates!" Weiss suddenly exclaimed, showing a rather high level of hatred.

"This again, Weiss?" Blake asked in an alarming serious tone, but Weiss simply raised her hand in a stop gesture.

"This has nothing to do with their race, they are criminally insane." Weiss replied as if claiming victory, more over herself than over Blake.

"The White Fang are hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They are a collection of misguided faunus." Blake suddenly said, struggling to remain calm.

"Misguided? They want to wipe out humanity of the face of the planet!" Weiss exclaimed, and this earned concerned stares from both Mitsuhide and Nobunaga.

"So they are very… misguided. Either way, that doesn't explain why they would rob a dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale." Blake stated, wisely directing the argument toward another direction.

"Blake got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago… maybe it was him?" Ruby added her input.

"That doesn't change that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those faunus only know how to lie, cheat and steal." Weiss suddenly returned to her tirade of hatred, and Blake seemed ready to explode, if not for Nobunaga suddenly hugging her; it was not a restraining move, it was a move to tell her that he was on her side, that she was no longer alone, thing that she really appreciated.

"That is not necessarily true." Yang said, not taking very well Weiss attitude; she and Ruby have grown on a community that got along with faunus, so they learned long ago that faunus are persons, just like humans.

"HEY! Stop that faunus!" A sudden yell got the attention of both teams, stopping the coming argument. The teams ran in time to watch a male blonde monkey faunus jumping off from a ship, a stowaway by the screams of the crew; he showed great agility when escaping from everyone, although not much in the sense of respect, if the banana peel thrown at the policeman was any indication; when his escape route passed through where teams RWBY and NKRA were standing, the monkey faunus winked at Blake, much to her indignation, and to Nobunaga's annoyance.

"Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes." Yang said, while Blake gave a squeeze to Nobunaga's hand, she felt his discomfort at the gesture of the monkey faunus, and that made her feel special, and a little bit of undeserving, it was only fair to let him know that she was his, and no one was going to change that; Nobunaga certainly appreciated the gesture.

"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss suddenly called as she began the pursuit, and while everyone followed her, Mitsuhide could only shake his head at how quick she was to assume that the stowaway would participate in the tournament.

The chase didn't last long, for as they turned a corner to keep following the monkey and the policemen, Weiss collided with someone, making both teams stop, allowing the other group to be lost in the distance.

"NO! He's got away!" Weis cried her failure, seemingly not noticing the other person below her.

"Aaahh… Weiss?" Yang suddenly called to attention, while signaling the girl below the heiress; she was a pale white girl with freckles, curly orange hair with a pink bow that seemed to be wrongly placed, and green eyes that seemed… off.

"AH!" Weiss cried as she stood up in haste.

"Salutations!" The girl greeted them in a cheerful way that was… odd.

"Hello." Ruby returned the greeting, although even she found the girl weird.

"Are you… ok?" Yang asked with concern, the girl was acting too strange to be alright.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking." The girl cheerfully replied, but she had to yet make a move to stand up, or even sit.

"Do you… want to get up?" Yang asked now, even more worried for the girl, just one step to call an ambulance.

"Yes!" The girl replied after a few seconds of consideration, then she stood up with an agility that belied her appearance, forcing both teams to take a step back in precaution.

"My name is Penny, is a pleasure to meet you!" The girl said, her eyes swept across both teams, although Ranmaru could have sworn that the girl took an instant to individually look at each one of them.

Then both teams proceeded to introduce themselves, and Ranmaru noted with uneasiness how she looked at each one of them as they mentioned their names, as if drinking all their features, tone of voice and even level of aura, all within the span of a mere second for each person, all with that silly smile on her face; for good or ill, Ranmaru could tell that the smile was real.

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head? I mean, Yang." Yang finished after being elbowed by Ranmaru, as startling as the girl was, there was no need to begin hostilities.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny repeated her second greeting, but as much as she moved as a bad actor, her cheerfulness was real, just as her silly smile.

"You already said that." Weiss stated as a matter of a fact.

"So I did!" Penny replied, it was impossible to tell why was so happy after such simple thing.

"Well, sorry for running into you!" Weiss said and then she turned to leave, action mirrored by everyone, as they saw no need to keep chatting with the strange girl, they all had more important things to do.

"Take care, friend." Ruby said her good bye, not seeing that the girl seemed distraught at her choice of words.

"She was…" Yang began to say as they walked some distance.

"Weird?" Ranmaru completed, but there was no smile or laughs, for he was left feeling uneasy on the presence of the strange girl.

"Now, where did that faunus riff-raff run to?" Weiss tried to change the subject back to where she wanted, but couldn't continue as she took notice of who was now in front of them.

"What did you call me?" Penny, who suddenly appeared before them, asked with such seriousness that it scared both teams.

"GAH! WE ARE SORRY!" Both Yang and Ranmaru shouted as they hugged each other, all while Weiss and Mitsuhide made hilarious motions trying to understand how the girl could move so fast and silently.

"No. Not you… You." Penny said, first to Yang and Ranmaru, then to Ruby, to whom she walked to, until she was at arm's reach.

"Me? But I…" Ruby tried to back off, only to end leaning on Kanetsugu, who gently held her, ready to shield her, should the strange girl tried anything remotely harmful.

"You called me friend! Am I really your friend?" Penny asked with a strange sense of urgency, as if pleading to confirm such claim, which actually moved the heart of the battle monk; Ruby turned to look at the rest of her and Kanetsugu's team, the six members where either shaking their heads no, or waving their hands in a form of negation, then she turned to Kanetsugu, who was still holding her, said monk just shrugged, although his smile told her that he didn't mind.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Ruby replied, much to the dismay of the others, who could only face palm at the turn of events. Penny replied to this with an outburst of happiness, and then went on a tirade about how they would do a lot of girly things together as friends… on the side lines Ruby and Weiss were forced to remember the first day they met, not precisely a pleasant memory.

"So… what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asked, hoping to warm up to the girl… Ruby already called her friend; there was little else she could do now.

"Oh! I'm here to fight in the tournament." Penny replied instantly, her upbeat attitude didn't seem to match such declaration though… as if the tournament was the least important of her objectives.

"Wait, you are fighting in the tournament?" Weiss asked, full of doubt.

"I'm combat ready!" Penny replied while giving a mock salute.

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." Weiss suddenly shot, but regretted it as she felt Mitsuhide pat her shoulder, it wasn't in a pleasant way.

"Deceptive looks make for dangerous foes; there is nothing worse than to underestimate someone without knowing anything about such person." Mitsuhide chastised her, and she could only nod at the wise words of the man she wanted for herself.

"Besides, you are hardly one to judge with that dress of yours." Blake couldn't resist the opening for a jab, which actually made Nobunaga laugh.

"It's a combat skirt!" Weiss quickly defended, and this was instantly followed by Ruby's support and a high five; suddenly something clicked on the mind of the heiress…

"Wait a minute; if you are here for the tournament… does that mean you know that, monkey tailed rapscallion?" Weiss asked, a little too eager to get information, this in turn made Blake tremble in anger.

"The who?" Penny asked in honest confusion, still noticing the worried looks of the males in the group.

"The filthy faunus from the boat!" Weiss exclaimed in exasperation; Nobunaga and Mitsuhide quickly exchanged glances and nodded to each other, as much as they hated to do teamwork, they would not allow the girls to escalate the fight.

"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake asked in obvious rage, taking the ice princess by surprise.

"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He is a person!" Blake continued, gaining more strength on her tirade.

"Oh, I'm sorry, would like me…" Whatever Weiss was going to say was stopped as Mitsuhide gave a chop to the head, soft enough to not cause injury, strong enough to hurt; the look on her face first screamed of outrage, then surprise, then understanding.

"Who is speaking, you or your father?" Mitsuhide asked with a stern voice, successfully silencing the heiress; meanwhile, Nobunaga got a hold of Blake, and she could tell that this time she was being restrained; it was a strange feeling, because she didn't feel betrayed, or attacked, yet she didn't feel as if being given support.

"Blake, that faunus guy traveled as a stowaway, threw fruit to a police officer, resisted arrest, and is possibly causing chaos as he flees; that is hardly a upstanding member of society, that is hardly a person worth defending; save that strength for a man worthy of you." Nobunaga's words cut deep into her heart, she immediately began to imagine how betrayed her beloved boyfriend felt after she defended another guy so zealously, just because he was of the same species.

"G-Gomen… I…" Blake couldn't form a proper answer as she felt a lump forming in her throat, the knot in her stomach didn't help either; Nobunaga simply hugged her, telling her that everything was fine.

"This cannot stand as it is; let's return to our dorms." Kanetsugu suddenly said, getting everyone's attention.

"Huh? Why?" Ruby asked, showing not only her confusion, but everyone's.

"As sisters of battle, you can't allow these differences to tear your trust apart. You must discuss this, in orderly fashion, until both of you come to a common understanding; I'll serve as mediator, Mitsuhide and Nobunaga will be your seconds, the rest will be the witnesses." Kanetsugu explained, and everyone agreed; both girls saw this as a good opportunity to change the other. It was hare that they parted ways with Penny, and in comfortable silence they departed to the academy; Ranmaru secretly hoped that the incoming argument could be settled by sunset…

Back the team RWBY's dorm… quite late in the night…

Their argument has been escalating tremendously, to the point that it was almost a miracle that there has not been any physical aggression; Blake was defending all what was faunus related, including the existence of the White Fang, while Weiss, after a comic series of chops in the head by Mitsuhide's hand, settled for attacking only the White Fang and their extreme methods… Ruby, Yang and Ranmaru guessed that without the guys this could have gone much worse…

"Do you understand that you are defending an organization that hates humanity, don't you? The faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!" Weiss exclaimed, showing a hatred toward said organization that was actually her own.

"There is no such a thing as pure evil!" Blake shouted in frustration; Mitsuhide could not resist the urge of looking directly at Ranmaru as Blake said those words… obviously she didn't know who she was dating, and who served her boyfriend…

"Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, who force them to take such drastic measures!" Blake said with what sounded like pain mixed with hate.

"People like me?!" Weiss shouted, struck by those words.

"You are discriminatory!" Blake's voice now sounded pained; Weiss didn't need another chop in the head to understand now…

"I… I'm sorry… I know I have not been a nice person to faunus in general, I know that I'm far from approachable for faunus… but before you continue to think that I am like that good for nothing bully, I'll have you know that I'm a victim…" Weiss then began to explain her troubled childhood, how her family was a target of violence and assassination attempts, how friends, and boys she actually liked disappeared overnight, how her father threw all his frustration on her… Mitsuhide placed a hand on her shoulder as a show of support, thing that gave her the strength to finish her tirade.

"I may have wronged some faunus, but I'm not going to change my mind about the White Fang; I could forgive their thievery, but the murders? The look of terror on my sister's face every time I took a minute longer to answer a call? That my mother had a heart attack when she answered an anonymous call telling her that I was going to be sent back to her in little pieces? No, I will never forgive them… my father may be a racist, but I'm going to continue his crusade against the White Fang out of justice." Weiss firmly declared; Blake looked closer to tears, she had lied to herself to believe that many of the deaths had been accidents, or the work of an independent faunus; hearing the other side of the truth was hard, but while she could no longer defend the cause of the White Fang, at least she'll do the right thing, and let Weiss understand everyone was responsible.

"I'm sorry that you have suffered so much, but if we hadn't been pushed around that much, especially by your family, we wouldn't have resorted to such horrible deeds." Blake explained with a heavy heart… then she noticed that she had said too much…

"Wait what?" Ruby was the first to ask, but by Weiss look of horror, not the first to notice.

"You…" Weiss couldn't find words… she felt betrayed, cheated, angry, sad and guilty; all at the same time.

Blake was frozen, terrified, she felt like a defenseless lamb before a pack of wolves; she had said too much, not only revealing her nature as faunus, but her past with a terrorist organization, thing that she had kept hidden even from Nobunaga, especially from him. Slowly, she turned around to face the visionary, fully expecting to see horror, hatred and rejection; instead he hugged her, strongly, as if trying to stop her from running away…

"Didn't we promise to stay together to the very end, whatever it may be?" Nobunaga asked in a tender voice, although it did very little to calm the faunus girl.

"It is time, Blake; show them, and let this friendship fly or crash down, knowing that whatever the result may be, I'm still by your side." Nobunaga commanded, and Blake saw how the rest of her team looked at her intently; slowly, but surely, she reached for her bow, and after pulling one of the ends, she revealed her cat ears… the first to react was Ruby.

"THAT IS ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE! Can I touch them?!" Ruby asked as she was already all over Blake, leaving the cat girl confused at that reaction… it was the second time a human seemed so attracted to her ears after all.

"Whoa! Calm down sis, I don't think you want to make mister dark lord here jealous." Yang said in a playful tone, but actually she meant it; the face of the visionary when the monkey faunus winked at Blake was positively murderous…

"A faunus… and a member of the White Fang?!" Weiss almost screamed in rage, thankfully Mitsuhide was there to hold her.

"Hear her first, judge later." Mitsuhide's suggestion almost fell on deaf ears, only the knowledge that it has been almost a full semester of sleeping in the same room without incident convinced the heiress that there was something else.

"Ex-member, actually. I could never take the life of another person, and when I was forced to commit such act… I fled. Weiss, I know that not taking an active role in those acts hardly makes me innocent, but…" Blake explained as she tried to reach for Weiss, but the heiress slapped her hand away, leaving an extremely cold sensation on her skin.

"I… need solace; away from you. Either you leave, or I will; for I won't be able to sleep anywhere near you… tonight. Until I can… think things over… I don't want to see you." Weiss said with as much self-restraint as she could… she still sounded as if about to try to attack Blake.

"But Weiss!" Ruby was about to protest, to try to keep the team together, but the choice was already taken.

"Fair enough. Blake will sleep with me tonight, so you can rest assured she won't be here with you; Kanetsugu can stay, as I'm sure you could use some spiritual advice." Nobunaga quickly arranged things, surprising everyone.

"I'm not sure it is acceptable for me to stay the night in a room full of fair ladies…" Kanetsugu stated with worry, fearing for the reputations of the members of team RWBY.

"Don't worry; if no one complains about the two couples living unsupervised in front of our dorms, no one will say anything about a monk helping some pure girls to sleep at ease." Ranmaru stated, somewhat alleviating the worries of the battle monk, although Yang had to resist the urge to snort; there may not be complains about it, but there sure were rumors about what happened in team JNPR's room at night.

Later, at the heroes fountain…

Everything had gone out of control… and yet it wasn't as bad as she thought it would go. Blake found acceptance in Ruby and Yang, she found that Nobunaga's love held true, even when she admitted the truth, even when she uncovered that she was undeserving of such love; Ranmaru didn't change at all, he was still her faithful servant, even if she didn't want such a thing, and Kanetsugu was simply Kanetsugu, it was only logical for him to forgive her sins, and show friendship and fraternal love; Mitsuhide was obviously on Weiss side, even if said girl couldn't decide her standing about this new… issue.

"What would have happened without you, Nobu?" Blake muttered to herself while looking at the visionary, who was struggling with a vending machine to get her favorite beverage, just about a dozen feet away, close enough to not feel separated. At his request, she didn't put the bow back on, thing that her cat ears were thankful for, she was more thankful for the fact that all the students were asleep, so at least her faunus nature would remain hidden a little longer, even if it was only until morning…

"I knew you'll look better without that bow." The sudden voice had her on guard immediately, tracking the source was easy, for the guy was not trying to hide… it was the monkey faunus from the docks.

"And who you might be?" Blake asked, not only wary, but almost hostile; he had the smell of someone interested in a romantic relationship, she wondered why he couldn't tell that she was not free, and if possible, will never be again… then she remembered that Nobunaga is human, and as such, he had not impressed his scent on her by mere touch and interaction.

"Sun Wukong, at your service. But more importantly, what is your name, and why are you here, crying?" Sun asked with real concern, while closing the distance. It was a normal thing, for the faunus, a way to show interest, and then wait for a response of the other person, it was all instinct, with no harm intended… that's why he found it weird when she gave a step back instead of taking a second to notice his scent, and of course, Nobunaga not knowing about this kind of interactions, took it the wrong way.

"Blake!" Nobunaga called as he tried to reach for her; then something happened, from his extended hand a mass of darkness, different from what he uses to attack, emerged; it raced toward Blake with unavoidable speed, engulfing her instantly, then the mass of darkness returned to him, placing a startled and admittedly disoriented Blake Belladonna on his arms. Nobunaga made an excellent job at masking his surprise.

"What the fuck?!" Sun could not hide his surprise, much less the sense of dread that he got from the murderous eyes from the visionary.

"Are you ok?" Nobunaga asked to a now recovered Blake, that move had her heart racing; the visionary had discovered his semblance to protect her…

"Yes… well, now I am." Blake faintly replied, she was going to make sure that this misunderstanding never repeated again, by being soaked on his scent, by any means necessary.

"Good. And you; what gives you the right to assault my future wife?!" Nobunaga acknowledged that cat girl with a reassuring smile, and then pointed his sword to the monkey boy; Blake would make sure to get his scent, permanently impressed on her, tonight.

"Whoa! Hey! Calm down buddy. I wasn't aware she was already… wait a minute; you are human! Are you even aware she is a faunus?" Sun asked in alarm, and a little bit of hope, although the last one was quickly shot down.

"Of course I know! And if you plan to use that as an excuse to separate us…" Nobunaga replied, leaving the promise of death should he tried something else, promise accentuated by the action of covering the edge of his sword with darkness, the humming sound already making Sun sweat.

"Hey! I'm not racist! It just took me by surprise, ok? Now don't tell me I can't be worried for a fellow faunus." Sun replied, trying to diffuse the dangerous situation he was in; while he didn't fear for his life, he knew that this kind of misunderstanding could lead his team to be kicked out of the festival.

"The problems I have are something personal, and I don't require any more assistance than what I can find in the arms of my future husband. The only thing you could do for me, is not telling anyone else that I'm a faunus." Blake stated, making sure to return that delightful title that Nobunaga used on her.

"Why not?" Sun asked in confusion… then he felt something extremely sharp between his legs.

"Because my lady says so." Ranmaru said, while holding his nodachi between Sun's legs, ready to cut him in half.

"YIKES!" Sun knew he had tried a move on the wrong girl…

* * *

 **Magnus:** I do not agree with the end of season 3, and I'm murdering the bad guys in extremely horrible ways as retaliation.


	13. Shades of Gray

**Magnus:** Here is where the first season ends, however I may add one or two more chapters before starting season two; in the mean time, enjoy, and remember, Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** I wish I owned One Punch Man, that way I could have shipped Genos with Penny.

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

 **Shades of Gray**

Weiss went to sleep, just after Kanetsugu had lectured her in the wisdom of the voice of the heavens, and the strength of love; she was reeling of all the things Kanetsugu told her, but the kiss on the top of her head had left her speechless, it felt like the good night kiss that her father NEVER gave her, loving, caring, and awfully protective… both Yang and Ruby got kisses too, although Ruby's was in the forehead instead of the top of the head. Now she was dreaming, and while she didn't like the dream, she could tell it wasn't a nightmare…

"I don't want to see this…" Weiss muttered, not in fear, but in sadness; before her, the image of her discussion with Blake was being played, not as a movie, but like static figures in front of her.

" _ **Why do you hate her? Is she the one responsible for all your suffering?"**_ Kanetsugu's voice sounded, the face of his figure was loving, caring, but mired in concern.

"… _I know that not taking an active role in those acts hardly makes me innocent, but…"_ Blake's voice followed, with the unmistakable tone of sadness and regret, her face was one who longed for forgiveness and acceptance; Weiss didn't want to see that face, it didn't belong to a member of the White Fang.

" _ **Can she really be your enemy?"**_ Kanetsugu's voice sounded again, repeating what he said before sending her to sleep.

"The White Fang are my enemies! You can't expect me to forgive the ones who murdered my happiness…" Weiss replied with much less strength than what she intended, and the more she looked at her figure, filled with hatred, rage and dark thoughts of vengeance, the weaker she felt.

" _...I could never take the life of another person, and when I was forced to commit such act… I fled…"_ Blake's apologetic voice sounded again, leaving Weiss almost crying; she wanted to believe that Blake was to blame, that by destroying her, she would avenge all the victims of the White Fang, that by removing her, no one else would suffer… but that would not only be naïve, but criminal too; Blake was not to blame, she was just another wronged faunus, misguided into thinking that violence would solve everything.

" _ **She seems ready to forgive you, even from sins that are not your own; why can't you do the same?"**_ Kanetsugu's voice cut through all her defenses like a blazing sword through tissue paper; Weiss couldn't reply or form a retort, for she was assaulted by the memories of every time she acted like a racist, every time she showed despise toward the faunus, and even worse, every time she acted like her father.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I wish I hadn't said those horrible words, I wish I hadn't showed that horrible face! I want my friend back, I want her witty comments back… I want to pet her ears like Ruby would do…" Weiss said as she felt to her knees, sobbing and trembling due to all the guilt and sadness; now she realized that at most, Blake only deserved being chastised for joining the bad guys for a short time, and not being in the receiving end of a blade or a gun.

" _ **Then wake up, and tell her that. Love always finds a way, and you can start again, stronger than before."**_ Kanetsugu's voice sounded one final time, ending the dream before Weiss had a chance to react to words that she didn't hear before. Weiss opened her eyes to find herself in a state she could barely describe, on one hand, she felt fully rested, in the other, she could feel that she had been crying all night; she discarded all confusion when she felt what she was looking for, she felt ready to see Blake, and put an end to this horrible issue…

"Well… that was intense…" Weiss muttered as she began to raise, however she found strange to not hear response whatsoever, neither a witty comment, nor even a groan for waking someone up…

"Huh? Girls?" Weiss asked a little louder, and then she noticed Yang standing up beside Kanetsugu's bedroll… with her jaw dropped and her eyes wide as saucers…

"Yang?" Weiss asked as she walked to her, then she noticed what had Yang in such state. Ruby had snuck up from her hanging bed to Kanetsugu's bedroll, tucked herself against him, and used his chest as a pillow; Weiss could only take her scroll to take a picture, as this would beat all the other pictures she had taken from her team leader, a picture to embarrass her for life.

When the scroll made its customary sound of a picture being taken, both Kanetsugu and Ruby stirred; but while Ruby woke up with a start, Kanetsugu simply moved to hug her, still half sleep. Ruby watched his eyes, paralyzed for being caught in such position, and silently wishing for Kanetsugu to not fully wake up yet; all while trying to come up with a plan to get away from the trap she fell on her own.

"Ohayo, Akako-chan…" Kanetsugu suddenly said with a voice that gave away that he was most likely still dreaming, too slow to wake up and notice his surroundings… then he leaned toward Ruby, and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips… although it was more like a gentle bruise of lips than a real kiss…

"Humm… Yang…" Waiss nervously called to her teammate, fully expecting her to explode in rage and murder the poor monk; instead she found that the blonde bombshell had fainted at such happening… all without noticing that she had kept pressing the button to take pictures, taking shots of every second of the kiss.

A couple of hours later…

Blake came out of team NKRA's room feeling like a complete and fulfilled woman, Nobunaga's caresses and attention were like a much needed medicine, healing wounds and attending needs; she no longer felt the overwhelming need to run away, for she felt strong, and no longer alone, she was ready to face her fate, either being accepted by Weiss, and becoming a huntress to fight by her lover's side, or being rejected, and probably facing a couple of years in prison, to become a quiet housewife for her beloved Nobu.

"Are you ready?" Nobunaga asked while hugging her from behind, his voice full of love, but when she turned to look at him, she noticed that he was still eyeing her covered cat ears.

"Yes… and sorry for the bow, it will just be a little bit longer, ok?" Blake answered, knowing that the bow was the last little bit of cowardice she had of her old self, but she preferred that, than to let her beloved Nobu face the relentless attacks of the anti-faunus students.

At that moment, the door of team RWBY's room opened, revealed a thoughtful looking Weiss, being followed by the rest of the team and Kanetsugu, Blake almost missed that Yang looked depressed, and Kanetsugu and Ruby were blushing madly; Weiss and Blake made eye contact, and after taking a deep breath they closed the distance between each other, Weiss was the first to act by hugging the catgirl…

"I'm sorry, Blake. I'm sorry for all the harsh words I said to you, I'm sorry for all the anger I showered you with, I'm sorry for looking at you as if you were my enemy." Weiss said with an almost broken voice, finally feeling good for walking her own path.

"I'm sorry too; for reacting so badly to your anger toward a criminal group, for seeing your suffering as a lesser thing, for only seeing the Schnee in you." Blake replied, recognizing that she had been wrong on sticking to old grudges and ideals, which no longer were her own.

"Just tell me once more that you are no longer with them, and I'll believe you; just tell me, please, that you want to be my friend, and I'll try even harder to be a better person, one that has nothing to do with my father." Weiss words made Blake hug the heiress back, this was better than anything she had thought would happen, so she decided that there was no reason to not believe in her friend.

"I'm no longer with that terrorist group, and I really want to be your friend; you are a much better person than your father, more that he could ever hope to be. I… love you, Weiss; as my friend, teammate and battle sister." Blakes words seemed to echo with power, one that brought a sincere smile in the ice princess, and that brought peace to the hearts of everyone present; wounds were finally healed, and unconformities put to rest, Blake could now see the girl beyond the Schnee, and Weiss could feel the caring heart beyond the animal features. Then Weiss stiffened, and her face became mired by something foul…

"Blake… you did remember to take a shower before this meeting, didn't you?" Weiss suddenly asked with a face that was full of disgust, while Blake's eyes went wide in surprise.

"Would you believe me if I said yes?" Blake asked with a nervous chuckle, knowing very well what was happening.

"Well, now that we are in a good standing, I'm retiring to the showers to be properly cleansed; I suggest you to do the same if you want to be anywhere near me." Weiss said as she pushed Blake away with a disgust that had nothing to do with her being a faunus or an ex-member of the White Fang; then she hurriedly went to the showers.

"Well, you heard the princess; let's hit the showers before everyone takes notice of how close you are to the lord of darkness." Yang suddenly said while grabbing Blake to carry her to the showers.

"No! No no no no! I don't want to! I'm fine like this!" Blake exclaimed while kicking and flailing, not wanting to lose what she gained through the night; Nobunaga tried to reach for her, to save her from whatever her teammates tried to force her to, but Ranmaru stopped him on his track, with a basket full of bathroom supplies.

"You know the drill, my lord; I'm not allowing you to walk around and make a fool of yourself while you show pride on what you achieved last night with my lady." Ranmaru said while pushing Nobunaga to the showers, with the basket in hand; Nobunaga could only sputter nonsense while trying to resist, with no success whatsoever.

"I'm just going to say: A thousand blessings to whoever invented earplugs." Mitsuhide said as he noticed Kanetsugu's questioning stare, and then promptly left to get away from any kind of questions.

Ruby had been out of the event the whole time, wobbling from one side to the other, playing with the hem of her cape, and stealing glances at Kanetsugu every now and then; Kanetsugu for his part, had been only half paying attention to the hugging girls, all without prying his eyes from the scythe wielder, worried out of his mind for her well being, berating himself for committing such atrocity, to steal a kiss from her pure and innocent lips.

"Ruby… if there is anything I can do to return the peace to your heart, just tell me, and it will be yours, even if it is my life…" Kanetsugu slowly said, making sure to let her understand that he meant it.

" _I've spoken to Mitsuhide, and he told me that Kanetsugu does not think on the same line as he or the others; he told me that Kanetsugu will most likely accept you in a relationship simply by asking, but he will not accept a superficial romance, he will believe you want marriage… and he told me that… well, Kanetsugu lost a chance to have a wife already when he came here… just keep that in mind before you act, ok?"_ Weiss' words kept replying on the mind of the scythe wielder, over and over, nearly a dozen times per second thanks to her semblance, that's why she hadn't said anything about romance, not because she didn't want it, much less for fear of marriage, which was an important part of her childish dream, but because she didn't feel like enough of a woman for a guy that she saw as perfect…

"Kanetsugu…" Ruby tried to talk, but her mind had too many questions, too many ideas, and too many things to say; from simple questions about how much he valued her, to the idea of jumping at the chance and demand him to be hers forever… however there was one question that was eating her from inside, one that was feeding her fears and insecurities more than anything in the world…

"Yes, Ruby?" Kanetsugu asked while grabbing her hands into his, caressing them with care and kindness, filling her with courage to continue with the question that she needed an answer to, an answer that she was dreading with her entire being.

"Who is Akako Chan?" Ruby asked with a trembling voice while trying to brace herself for an answer that she believed would destroy her. Kanetsugu looked puzzled at first, but then he chuckled, greatly confusing the red caped girl.

"I'm sorry, I forgot that you are not used to my native tongue. I was having a very recurrent dream about being married, but in my dreams, my wife never has a set face or hair color and style, being a shifting thing; this morning though, when I opened my eyes believing I was still in the dream, I finally saw a face with a lot of red, that's why I was able to name my dreamed wife for the first time." Kanetsugu explained, but this only confused the scythe wielder even more.

" _Aka_ means red in your tongue, by adding _ko_ , which can mean 'little', I turned it into a female name, while _chan_ is an honorific meant for someone who is cared for; I think the proper translation would be something like Dear Little Red." Kanetsugu explained in more depth, and Ruby reacted by first stopping her trembling body, with her eyes wide open in surprise, then her eyes watered and her lips quivered; she understood that the boy she liked had dreamed of her, as his wife, like a happy family… her very own wish.

"Kiss me…" Ruby demanded in a little and quivering voice, much to the surprise of the monk, who couldn't help but to obey. He found that Ruby was a clumsy kisser, just like him, but the happiness she radiated was a deciding factor for the battle monk, he would see this through, and would not allow ANYTHING to ruin her desired life.

Lunch time…

Yang watched the group reunited under the tree… both fearless leaders decided to celebrate the peace between members, and their love, in a private reunion in the gardens, away from prying eyes, and unneeded comments; Weiss and Blake had a lot to celebrate, for they had emerged stronger from their argument, changed for the better; Blake and Nobunaga also celebrated the new depths of their relationship, thankfully masking their words so Ruby didn't get any ideas… speaking of which, Ruby and Kanetsugu had changed from sitting close to 'always touching', thing that had the blonde brawler drained of energy… she tried to distract herself again by looking at Weiss and Mitsuhide, but the two stuck up idiots seemed to prefer their political dance to any juicy action…

"Are you ok?" Ranmaru asked as he brought her some of the food he prepared, a sushi roll, uncut, and a couple of onigiris, with some fish in the center… Yang suspected that it was all geared to please Blake, not that she minded the delicious Edo food…

"Well… no. I got beaten by my cute and innocent little sister, thing that should have been impossible by all accounts. I don't think I'll be fine ever again." Yang replied with a tired voice, although her lips curved into a small smile when she took a bite of the sushi… she idly noticed how wrong it looked to put such a thing on her mouth, but she suspected that such was the intention all along, if the grin on the males was any indication, then again, Blake was making no effort to hide her delight on each bite she took; that made her smile grow a little bigger, but it wasn't full blown.

"I wasn't aware you had such a spar, or was it an argument?" Ranamaru asked with his pleasant smile, making the blonde brawler face palm.

"It wasn't anything like that!" Yang quickly tried to diffuse the situation, although it was more to save face; it was already bad to lose in the love department, losing in combat would have been fatal.

"I know, I know… You are sore for not finding your perfect man before your sister, for you didn't expect it to happen so soon." Ranmaru summarized Yang's feelings, much to her annoyance, and she could only pout at his smartness.

"Sometimes even I can't tell if you are a guy or a girl; what with that kind of mind…" Yang tried to make a remark to feel better, but then Ranmaru went to whisper something to her ear; the more he talked to her, the more her eyes began widen, then her smile began to recover her strength, and by the end of it, she was happy again.

"So, what do you think?" Ranmaru asked with his devious smile.

"That may actually work, cutepie." Yang replied, and then, before Ranmaru could go back to serve his lord and lady, she pulled him in a deep kiss; it lasted for more than a minute, and by the end of it, not only they were without breath, the rest of the group were clapping.

"Cheers to the couple!" Nobunaga said with a soda can on his hand, being immediately supported by Blake.

"Blessings from the heavens upon your love!" Kanetsugu proclaimed, and Ruby happily clapped to cheer up her sister.

"Just remember that you have no obligation to procreate, ok? The Grimm are dangerous enough, there is no need of more murderous happy people." Mitsuhide said in a way that sounded too serious, thing that made the ice princess laugh, loudly and without reservations, a first for her own team.

"That's unfair! Don't listen to him, have as many babies as you can, I want to be a good aunt." Ruby suddenly said, in way that was truly innocent, although that sent Yang into a full blown blush… she didn't say no to that though.

"I can believe that you like big families, this should be proof enough that you already want to begin with that." Weiss said in a playful, but vengeful, tone, and then typed something on her scroll; soon every scroll pinged, signaling that she had sent something.

Everyone watched the content of the package, a single picture, depicting Ruby not only receiving her first kiss from Kanetsugu, but blushing and clearly enjoying it far more than one would expect. All had wide eyes while exchanging glances between the picture and the actual couple, only Kanetsugu seemed calm about it, watching the picture with a warm smile, while Ruby had her face buried between his neck and his shoulder, avoiding the looks of the rest, embarrassed at that moment being caught in a picture.

"And there it is, undeniable evidence of their love!" Weiss said with a smug smile, finding amusement in torturing her team leader.

"Well, certainly no one could deny this evidence." Blake said between chuckles, but her words sent Weiss into a serious thinking stride.

"That's it! Blake, I've found a way to put any future arguments between us to rest!" Weiss shouted as she began to furiously type in her scroll.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked, half concerned, and half expectant.

"You said that you found hard to believe that the White Fang were behind the large attacks of the last months, and I find hard to believe different; well, here is something that will help us out, there is going to be a fake shipment at the docks of downtown vale, information was leaked about it, including the hours of the guard shift, so we know it is going to be attacked, tomorrow at 6:00 PM." Weiss said as she found the data about the operation, which she got as part of the security leak.

"Why do you tell me that?" Blake asked, confused at this sudden turn of events.

"I believe you; I believe that you are not with them, so I know you won't tell them that it is a fake shipment. This is an operation to track them down to their hidden base here on Vale, which means that we need them to take all the containers; Blake, I'm not trying to force you to do this, but if you want to find out the truth about how far they are going, I'm inviting you to watch the operation, from afar, at a safe distance." Weiss explained what seemed to be a rather risky plan, all for the sake of proving something.

"And if I see that they are not the White Fang?" Blake asked with some defiance, trying to see dents on this plan, but Weiss only smiled brightly at that.

"Then you are right, and I should convince my father to find and punish the real culprits, instead of targeting only faunus." Weiss reply left the catgirl surprised, for it sounded sincere.

"That sounds good." Blake accepted, but soon felt Nobunaga's grip on her tighten.

"If you think I will allow you to go alone to such a perilous mission, you are wrong." Nobunaga said with a tone that gave no room to argument; it also made the catgirl blush at how protective the visionary was, and she liked it.

"Of course, and remember, no intervening; the operation must be completed, besides, is not like there would be a reason to show yourselves, I mean, no guards or witnesses, so no danger to anybody." Weiss stressed her point, and Blake nodded, for this would help both of them greatly; Nobunaga looked at Kanetsugu with questioning eyes, and when the monk nodded at him with a grim face, he knew that things will not go as easy.

Soon the girls turned to more cheerful topics, and even plans on how to sit in classes to not being separated; the boys simply agreed with everything they said; they would see their white knights happy and safe, not caring how much blood they'll need to spill to do so.

Next day…

Two groups were formed to begin their little adventure, the first was the one to go to the docks, formed by Blake, Nobunaga, Ranmaru and Yang, while the second was formed with the intention to serve as support should something goes wrong, with Weiss, Mitsuhide, Kanetsugu and Ruby; the plan was not too special or complex, the second group had to spend time window shopping in the nearest sector to the docks, while the first was to watch the whole theft from a safe enough distance, namely, a set of buildings that overlooked the docks, but that had no reason to be checked by the thieves.

"Ranmaru, anything to report?" Nobunaga asked through his scroll, still watching through the window at the cargo; while he and Blake had gone inside one of the buildings, Ranmaru and Yang went to the roof of a different one, overlooking another angle, just in case.

" _No, my lord. Things are strangely quiet over here."_ Ranmaru's voice sounded on edge, as if expecting the worst; Kanetsugu had warned them that this venture wouldn't end without blood and tears, and Nobunaga wanted to make sure that from the blood spilled, not a single drop belonged to the white knights.

"It is to be expected, the guard shift is going to take longer on purpose, so there is no one to be here." Blake said what they already knew; her nervousness though, was rooted in the fact that she still had a faint hope of finding them innocent… at least from this.

"Except for us!" Sun's voice forced them to draw weapons and point them to him, the monkey faunus reacted by lifting his hands in clear surrender.

"What are you doing here?!" Blake asked, not putting her weapon away.

"Just wanted to make sure you were alright! Look, seeing you entering in this shady place with this shady guy gave me a bad vibe, ok? Of course now that I can see you are not here on some… shady business, I think I may lend a hand." Sun explained as clearly as he could, he still wanted to look good in front of Blake.

"Why are you really here?" Nobunaga demanded as he placed his blade to Sun's neck, then the monkey faunus made a face of defeat, not because he feared the visionary, but because he noticed the change on their scents.

"So, you already sealed the deal, huh? Anyway, I'm telling the truth; here is a faunus in need of help, and I want to help her, even if she is already taken." Sun explained with a serious, yet sad voice.

" _Heads up, lovebirds! There are bullheads getting close, they may be our bandits."_ Yang's voice came from the scrolls, and the three went to the windows to take a look at the cargo bay. True to the warning, two bullheads landed in the bay, and descending from them, figures dressed in black, and covered in white garments could be seen, it was at this moment that Blake let out a saddened sigh.

"Well, she was right. I guess it's time to finally let go of my old ideals, and embrace my new life." Blake said as she typed a message to Weiss, it was the right thing to do, to accept defeat, and start anew.

"It is for the better, there is no need to keep looking back when everything you need is forward." Nobunaga said while placing a supportive hand on her shoulder, thing that she really needed; Weiss replied immediately, telling them to get out of there as soon as it was safe, she also added that she felt sorry for all of this.

"So, are we stopping this robbery, or what?" Sun asked as if ready for action, on a last attempt to show off in front of Blake, not to steal her from the visionary, but to remember her that there were more options than the villainous guy.

"No need to do so, we were just tasked to watch." Blake replied, not wanting to involve the monkey faunus any more.

"What kind of mission is that?" Sun asked, but got not reply, instead Blake and Nobunaga held hands and watched together the scene before them; after a minute they noticed something out of place, there was a human with the members of the White Fang…

"Something isn't right… the White Fang would never work with a human, much less one like him!" Blake said as she reached for Gambol Shroud, but couldn't move when she felt Nobunaga's hand on her shoulder.

"If they attack you, I will retaliate with the intention to end their lives." Nobunaga warned, making clear the he wasn't stopping her.

"If they attack me, then they are no longer the ones who swore to be my brothers and sisters." Blake replied, mentioning the oath that the old White Fang used, in which the members were forbidden to ever hurt a fellow faunus.

"Are you ready to carry that responsibility?" Nobunaga's question threw her off balance, for she hadn't considered that option, then she relaxed, and let go of her weapon.

"No… and you are right; now, more than ever, they need to be tracked. I personally want to know if these faunus are the real White Fang, or if this is a cell forced to cooperate with that… scum." Blake finally said, reasoning that there was more to be gained now, for she knew that man among her kin, the infamous Roman Torchwick.

"So… still on watch duty?" Sun asked in clear annoyance, her chances of looking heroic had been shot down quite epically; Nounaga just shook his head at the antics of the monkey faunus, and favored to hold Blake in a supportive embrace, a couple more bullheads joined the scene, clearly showing that this was not a small operation.

" _My lord, something is not right; they got hostages."_ Ranmaru's voice alerted them of something far worse than simply being caught.

"HOSTAGES?!" Both Nobunaga and Blake shouted in horror, and then watched from their window how a group of White Fang members were hoarding a pair of subdued guards, one male and the other female.

"Guys… are we still on watch duty?" Sun asked while taking out his bo staff, this looked dangerous, but he couldn't accept the idea of leaving two guards in the hands of a terrorist group.

"Blake, looking at the cold numbers, the life of two guards does not stack up to taking down a terrorist organization; that being said, I personally don't like how that human is touching that poor woman, it's your call, and I'll be with you to the very end." Nobunaga said, although his words sounded ominously dark. Blake watched the window for a few more seconds, and saw how Roman was caressing the face of the woman while the group of faunus began to carry the man away, she didn't need imagine what awaited these two…

"I won't let anyone else suffer; we are going in to rescue them." Blake said with determination, and Nobunaga simply nodded.

"Ranmaru, we are going to rescue the hostages, rules of engagement as per usual." Nobunaga ordered through his scroll; he didn't have to wait for any kind of answer, he knew that Ranmaru was going to do his job, the one job he could do better than anyone…

Down in the dock…

Roman Torchwick felt like the luckiest scoundrel of the world, a contract that would ensure his survival to the incoming war, a group of faunus extremists that somehow had taken a liking to him, and now, as if to celebrate, a very sexy guard woman to have a go.

"Now, sweet cheeks, if you perform well, I may keep you alive for a long time, what do you say?" Roman asked to the tied woman while approaching her in a very clear indication to what he wanted, the three faunus that were accompanying him just chuckled at what was to come, and while they would never ask him to share, they will enjoy watching the show; they never noticed Blake approaching, until she had Roman in a hostage hold, with her sword at his neck… Nobunaga had to resist the urge to face palm when he noticed that she was using the blunt side instead of the edge, then again, she was unbloodied.

"Oh, for fuck's sake…" Roman muttered when he finally noticed the trouble he landed in, his personal guard where quick to point weapons to Blake though.

"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?!" Blake asked aloud as she removed the bow from her cat ears, making the faunus to relax, and even Roman to let out a chuckle.

"Whoa! Calm down, little lady. Didn't you get the memo?" Roman asked in what could only be a mocking voice.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked in barely contained disgust.

"The White Fang and I are joining in a very successful venture business." Roman said with an air of arrogance that infuriated the catgirl to no end.

"That's bullshit! The White Fang I know would never step as low as to work with a scum like you, or to partake in the rape and murder of an innocent!" Blake defended her old cause… for the last time. The faunus surrounding her began to laugh, and then began to get closer to her.

"It seems that someone has been out of the game for some time, which means that you are fair play, little kitty." Roman said while preparing his cane to make an opening, but instead, Blake kicked him toward the approaching faunus; just as he was caught by his accomplices, he noticed a blonde tailed guy taking away the guard woman he was going to rape a moment ago, enraged at this, he quickly turned around to make a blind shot at the retreating catgirl, failing by a mere inch, still causing a loud explosion with lots of smoke…

A few blocks away…

Ruby, Weiss, Kanetsugu and Mitsuhide had been joined by Penny during the outing, and it hadn't been as bad as they thought it would be; the strange girl had asked a lot of questions about their relationships, and how did they got together, and had expressed her happiness for the two couples in very expressive ways. When Weiss got the message from Blake, she had smiled, and her mood brightened, not because she was right, but because Blake was ready to relent in that topic… all of that turned into worry when they heard the explosion, and saw the rising smoke.

"OH NO! BLAKE!" Weiss screamed, worried sick for her friend.

"Let's go!" Ruby shouted and then ran toward the docks, quickly being followed by Kanetsugu and Penny; Weiss, however, found herself restrained by Mitsuhide.

"You cannot be involved in this, least you bring the attention of your father, or become a direct target of the White Fang." Mitsuhide warned, trying his best to not get Weiss involved in the bloodbath that was most likely happening right now.

"But my friends…" Weiss tried to reason with the samurai, but wasn't allowed to continue.

"Instead, do the sensible thing, and call the police for reinforcements. I'm certain that a group of police cars would do a good job at scattering the terrorists, saving our teammates in the process." Mitsuhide explained while allowing Weiss to move, said girl could only nod at his advice, and quickly called the police department. Mitsuhide silently prayed that the white knights were ready to see blood, or there would be a lot of tears…

Back at the docks…

For Roman Torchwick, the appearance of the two wannabe faunus heroes had been but a mere nuisance, something he knew he could deal with barely needing any help, he knew he could even ignore them and carry on with the extraction of the dust… but then the other guy had to appear…

" **You dared to raise your weapons toward my treasure; that was your first and most grave mistake."** The voice, villainous in nature, and demonic in purpose, sounded through the darkness that seemed to grow with each passing second, forcing Roman and the members of the White Fang to form a close circle to cover each other's backs.

" **You won't live to make a second mistake."** The voice sounded again, this time accompanied by a humming sound, and then the scream of one of the faunus, the rest turned in time to see their companion down to his knees, aura field gone due to the massive impact of the dark sword; fear turned into horror when they saw the guy swinging his unholy blade again, this time cutting the head of the faunus clean off.

"MONSTER!" One of the terrorists shouted while aiming one of the mass produced rifles at the visionary.

"You will not touch him!" Blake shouted while slicing the canon of the weapon, she then slashed the offending faunus, sending him to the ground; Roman tried to aim his cane to the catgirl, but had to dodge the blade of the visionary, evading only because he had honed his survival instinct to inhuman levels.

"That is not a hunter in training; that is a tribal head hunter!" Roman shouted as he noticed that the guy with the tall ponytail was making extremely precise slashes aimed to take off heads, or pierce vital organs.

"Die!" Another faunus shouted while trying to attack Nobunaga from the back, just for the visionary to roll to the side and then stab him all the way through; the image of his sword coming out of the chest of the faunus was enough to make the others stop, this turned into full blown horror when the sword was retired, only to be used to cut off the head of their companion; their fear induced paralysis was enough for Blake to knock out the rest of the members of the White Fang.

"Well, I guess I gave very little credit to the hunter school; never thought I would see the day I'd meet a murderer in the same band as the good guys… unless you are not with the good guys, in which case I would like to extend an invitation to you, Mr. Headhunter." Roman said when he judged to be at a safe distance from the dark sword, half trying to recruit Nobunaga, half trying to buy some time.

"Dead men can't offer anything but silence." Nobunaga replied while pointing his sword toward the criminal, thing that said criminal didn't appreciate. Roman noticed a crane holding one of the containers above the dark pair, and in a classical maneuver, he shot it, making the container fall on them, taking the catgirl by surprise, but not the visionary, who in a single swing, cut the container in half, making obvious that they didn't need to move.

"Okay… now I'm impressed; too bad it's the end of the line for you!" Roman suddenly said as more terrorists began to jump from the multiple bullheads, then he noticed that the visionary was completely unfazed, as if fighting large groups of enemies was nothing but a warm up for him.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing to my friends?!" A childish voice sounded atop one of the buildings, earning Roman's attention… it was the red caped girl that foiled that robbery some months ago, this time accompanied by a white clad guy with an extremely ridiculous tall hat.

"Ruby, are these people your friends?" Penny asked as she approached the border of the rooftop, taking a look at the group of people below, upon seeing the dead faunus she understood that this was a life or death situation.

"Penny, stay back!" Both Ruby and Kanetsugu said at the same time while turning to look at the quirky girl; Roman noticed their distraction, and took a shot at the red caped girl in retaliation for the foiled robbery.

"Ruby!" Kanetsugu shouted while pushing Ruby to the side, taking a direct hit to the chest, this in turn made Ruby freak out.

"Kanetsugu!" Ruby shouted while rushing to his side, fearing the worst, fortunately he answered with a smile, for he had foreseen an outcome like this, so he had many active paper charms below his clothes, forming a good protective barrier.

"I'm ok, don't worry." Kanetsugu said, earning a small tear of happiness from his girlfriend… that was the last thing that Penny needed to engage into her full combat mode.

"Nobody hurts my friends or makes them cry." Penny declared while walking to the edge of the rooftop.

"Penny, what are you doing?" Kanetsugu asked in sudden alarm, the air around the quirky girl had changed completely in a mere instant.

"Don't worry, my friends; I'm combat ready!" Penny declared as her back pack opened, revealing a dozen of blades that seemed to float in the air around her, although at closer inspection, one would notice the small razor sharp wires holding them. Penny charged a jump, and then leaped into the fray, sending her floating swords to stab, slash and crush all opposition without trouble, taking herself a dozen or more members of the White Fang.

"Damn it! Just when I thought I had everything und…" Roman couldn't finish his sentence, for he found himself in the middle of a combined assault courtesy of and angry Blake Belladonna, and a truly murderous Nobunaga Oda; the first attacked with great agility, and whenever Roman landed a blow, he found that he had hit a shadow clone while the girl escaped, he couldn't track her to follow his counterattack though, because he was too busy trying to evade the dark blade of the visionary at all costs; he was not known for having a strong aura, and the catgirl was making an extraordinary job at depleting it quite fast.

Meanwhile, Penny had been doing a fantastic job at decimating the White Fang numbers, and while she had not killed anyone, many had lost a limb or two, or sported crippling wounds; then a couple of bullheads tried to bring aerial support to the terrorist, just to learn the hard way that Penny excelled at anti-air combat, for she was able to create a particle canon with her blades, and use it with frightening accuracy.

"Penny, watch out!" Ruby shouted as she used Crescent Rose as a sniper rifle to shot down one of the terrorists that was trying to sneak up to her; Penny gave a mock salute as a way of thanks, and then continued to trample the opposition.

Sun was returning from taking the guard woman to a safe place, and as he feared, the action was now winding down; only a small number of members of the White Fang were left standing and fighting, but he noticed that something was wrong… there was blood, too much of it, and some bodies were laking heads…

"No… this isn't right…" Sun muttered as he continued to watch; there was a quirky girl using too many swords, and while she was truly harming her enemies, she was not killing them; the red caped girl was using a dangerous looking scythe, but she was hitting with the blunt sides, or using it as a rifle, the guy in white was simply sticking paper squares on his enemies, paralyzing them for some unseen reason or force. But Blake and her boyfriend were swinging their blades with the full intent to kill; every terrorist that tried to assist Roman found a gruesome end at the blade of one of the dark pair, Blake was too angry to stop, trying her best to end the life of a filthy scum that most surely was manipulating the faunus for his own agenda, while Nobunaga was being murderous simply because these bastards attacked Blake in the first place.

"Heroes and good guys are not supposed to kill!" Sun shouted while trying to digest the scene before him, then he noticed that Roman was down on his knees, obviously with no more aura to protect him, Blake turned around to make sure that no one would try to attack their backs, while Nobunaga prepared the final strike, ready to cleave the sociopath in two, this forced Sun to act.

"NO!" Sun shouted as he turned his bo staff in gun-chucks, and then made a shot to change the direction of the dark sword, it saved the life of the sociopath… but not his right arm.

"GGHHAAAAA!" Roman screamed as his arm was severed from his body, while Nobunaga turned to glare toward the monkey faunus, this gave Roman the opportunity to grab his cane and shot the visionary point blank in the chest, sending him flying several feet away, Blake immediately went to see if he was alright, giving Roman enough time to escape on the only non destroyed bullhead.

"NOBU!" Blake screamed, scared out of her mind, then she noticed that Nobunaga was starting to stand up, and removing the chest piece of his plate armor, it was slightly dented, and smoking, but his body was thankfully unharmed.

"I'm fine, the armor served its purpose." Nobunaga said as he turned to glare at Sun, who was glaring back, that changed when Blake looked at him; her eyes were just as murderous as Nobunaga's.

"Don't make me shot you!" Ruby's voice forced them to look at the scythe wielding huntress, she was aiming to a female faunus, who was kneeling down and reaching for her gun, she was obviously out of aura, meaning that a single round from Crescent Rose would be lethal.

"Ok… I yield." The faunus said as she placed her hands behind her head, and that brought a bright smile on Ruby.

"Good, now stay there!" Ruby said and then she turned to go and support Kanetsugu; she never saw Nobunaga and Blake signaling her to not do so, much less the faunus woman taking a dagger from beneath her clothes and leaping at her… what she saw though, was Kanetsugu throwing his sword at her, she couldn't move due to the surprise, but when the sword missed her, she turned in reflex to see where the sword went, and found it lodged into the chest of the faunus she had defeated, she also noticed the dagger, and hence, she felt guilt filling her heart.

"Ruby! Are you ok?" Kanetsugu asked as he hugged her, full of worry at the saddened state of the red caped girl.

"I'm sorry… because of me… you had to…" Ruby couldn't continue as she began to sob; Kanetsugu settled for tightening the hug, and tell her that everything was ok.

"Blake, stay away from that, murderer!" Sun suddenly said to the catgirl, the stress on his voice had turned to anger.

"I will not allow you to call him that, not after you were the one who almost killed him!" Blake shouted back, the image of her boyfriend being shot at point blank range had been too much to handle, and she was about to extract retribution from the one responsible.

"He was about to kill that guy, just like he killed fellow faunus!" Sun was shouting now, he just couldn't believe that this sweet girl was willingly giving herself to such a blood thirsty monster.

"And that would have been for the best; now he will be allowed to continue sowing misery, until someone can cut him down." Nobunaga coldly replied, as if executing people was not new to him.

"Heroes and good guys do not kill…" Sun repeated, hoping to bring some light to the catgirl.

"Naïve thinking does not save people." Blake retorted; then the sound of sirens was heard getting closer, and Sun decided to leave the scene before anyone decided to add murder to his list of crimes. Once the monkey faunus was gone, Blake turned to look at the trail of bodies left, she felt guilty, and it was showing.

"I told you that this would happen." Nobunaga said in a worried tone, all while cleaning his sword with a piece of cloth.

"I know…" Blake said as she began to digest the reality of the situation; her beloved Nobu had resorted to kill in order to protect her, and while she had said openly that she knew of his ability to do so, saying that she accepted it, and now being involved in it had been a eye opener.

"If… you don't want to be with me anymore… I won't blame you. Just know that I love you, and I did this because I couldn't accept the idea of seeing you killed, or even hurt; I'd rather be known as a cold killer, than taking a chance at losing you." Nobunaga said as he finished cleaning his sword, and sheathing; soon he found himself being embraced by a teary Blake.

"I know… and I told you before, that I will be with you, to the very end." Blake replied, knowing that this is where she belonged; she didn't dare to compare Nobunaga to her former partner, because there was nothing to compare, Nobunaga may be ready to kill, but he showed self-restrain, Adam did not.

"Here, take your bow. Putting it on, or not, is your choice; I won't love you any less if you do so." Nobunaga said while handing her the piece of clothing that she was beginning to hate; she put it on though, as the police would be more likely to arrest her if she showed her cat ears.

Meanwhile…

Yang was covered in blood, in front of her, three bodies looked brutally mauled, to the point of their chests and heads being caved in; to her right, the remains of another seventeen corpses were scattered in just too many little bloody pieces to even try to count, with a perfectly clean Ranmaru in the middle, he was sporting a cute and pleasant smile, with happy eyes that belonged more to an aftersex session than to a blood bath; she was feeling giddy, itching for more action, but she recognized that something was really wrong…

"Dad told me and my sister that the first kill is always horrible, with following nightmares and nausea… I think I'm going dark…" Yang said, trying to sound worried, but her voice was mired with happiness, and not mattering how much she tried to stop it, she was smiling.

"Don't fight what you are, learn to accept yourself, and then control it." Ranmaru said as he reached her, cleaning her face with a handkerchief, and then planting a kiss on her lips. Yang decided to give in, and returned the kiss full force, even if she was going dark, at least she wasn't alone…

A couple of minutes later…

The police had been strangely on edge with the three couples, making questions, and politely requesting them to momentarily surrender their weapons, just to return them a little bit later after registering them, Nobunaga noted that the law enforcers were not used to the sight of blood and death, another thing to change in the future.

"Guys!" Weiss' voice sounded atop all other noise, she was running toward them, and when she reached them, she tried to hug all her teammates at the same time.

"I was so worried! Are you ok?" Weiss asked in a rare show of affection.

"Yes… although I'm sorry for interfering with your operation." Blake said, feeling guilty at causing such trouble to her friend.

"Forget about that! Nothing can replace you in my life" Weiss said, not breaking the embrace; Mitsuhide had told her that Kanetsugu had divined that there would be blood and tears during this adventure, and that had worried her to no end.

"I'm surprised to see survivors, is Ranmaru ill or something?" Mitsuhide asked with a calmness that did not belong to this moment.

"For your information, I was with Yang taking care of another group of enemies; this is the work of the others." Ranmaru calmly replied, and that forced the ice princess to take notice of her surroundings; policemen carrying lots of body bags, and paramedics attending to dozens of maimed or severely injured terrorists…

"Oh, Dust…" Weiss could barely exclaim in horror, turning green at the large pile of dead bodies.

"Where is Penny, I thought she came with you." Mitsuhide pointed now, and everyone began to look around to search for their quirky friend.

"She left in a car, boarding it on her free will; I wouldn't worry though, I'm certain we'll see her again." Kanetsugu suddenly said, making everyone relax; nobody asked if he actually see it, or if he divined it.

Headmaster's office…

Ozpin was banging his head on the desk; he should have seen this coming, it was too naïve of him to believe that the guys would restrain themselves from killing in front of the girls, and now he would pay the price. He knew that teams RWBY and NKRA had done nothing wrong, as in this case the killing was justified, but he dreaded the consequences; now people will question why some first years were so good at killing, either berating him for that level of murder, or question him why the rest of the students lacked it.

"Ozpin, maybe we should recheck the curriculum… I'm not saying that we should teach them how to kill from the get go, but maybe including classes to prepare them for when the time comes…" Glynda said, worried at the antics of the headmaster, and wanting to change the curriculum to her liking in the process.

"We will discuss that later…" Ozpin replied harshly, he would have a word with the tribal team, and try to convince them that their path was not acceptable.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Next chapter will include something special involving Penny, and maybe a little more of blood.


	14. Consequences

**Magnus:** Here goes the next chapter, seting the story for new changes and more plot development... I may still add another chapter before hitting season two, but haven't fully decided yet.

 **Disclaimer:** Thanks to Kage Bijuu for proposing the OC Kage Tamashii, so he can claim ownership of him if he wants.

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

 **Consequences**

Penny was in the middle of the room that hosted her and her father here at Vale, her cast down eyes were the ones of a child being scolded while feeling very sorry, but that wasn't because she accepted that she had done wrong, which she didn't believe, but because she had done it again, she had made her father worried sick…

"What were you thinking? What would have happened if you got discovered, or Oum forbid it, injured?" Professor Polendina asked in a tone that gave away that he was truly worried for her wellbeing, and Penny could tell that he was sincere and caring, even if a little bit overprotective.

"I'm sorry papa, but my friends were under attack, and I just couldn't let them face danger without my support." Penny replied, and the professor noticed that she had used THAT word again, he loved it, but it also confused him greatly.

"Penny, they are strangers, you just admitted to have met them only once prior to the incident… As much as it sounds nice, friendship bonds doesn't form that easily or so fast. Penny, even if they were nice people, which I doubt due to all the blood spilled, they may have said those words lightly, with no real meaning!" The professor tried to reason with Penny, as if she were a little child, innocent and naïve.

"But Ruby and Kanetsugu sounded sincere; I did read their vitals when speaking to them, they were truthful the whole time… I believe them to be my friends… they are my only friends…" Penny answered back, almost crying by the end, making the poor professor to rub his eyes in a very tired fashion; he was regretting telling her that this mission may give her the chance of making friends…

" _Did you just say Kanetsugu? As in, Kanetsugu Naoe?"_ Ironwood's voice sounded as a large screen flickered to life in the side of the room, scaring the professor, and startling Penny.

"GENERAL!" The professor shouted, scared out of his mind; in retrospective, he should have known that he was under heavy surveillance from the beginning, he had on his hands a top secret experiment after all.

" _I'm sorry, professor Polendina, it was not my intention to startle you or your… daughter; you, better than anyone, must understand her importance, and how much we need to keep track of her performance in the field, as well as her adaptability in society."_ Ironwood explained his sudden interference, not that it helped the pair in their current state.

"Of course, General." The professor replied after composing himself; Penny, however, seemed even more uncomfortable.

" _Now, back to my question Penny; can you confirm the identity of your friend?"_ The General requested in a more formal tone, thing that Penny knew she couldn't say no.

"Yes, General; my two friends are Ruby Rose, from Patch Island, student at Beacon Academy, and Kanetsugu Naoe, of the Uesugi Clan from beyond the last frontier, student at Beacon Academy." Penny replied, with a little bit of apprehension, for she believed that they were going to be visited by some officer to tell them that she was now off limits.

" _Fantastic, just fantastic! Now tell me, do they believe you to be… human?"_ Ironwood asked now, his interest on this information seemed to be too deep to be good.

"Well, yes; they even purchased some ice cream for me… and I just found that I favor chocolate, especially over mint… I think I don't like mint very much… as in, at all." Penny answered with a big warm and real smile, which made the professor feel guilty.

" _I see; what can you tell me about Kanetsugu?"_ Ironwood redirected the question to his new target, then Penny went on a large tirade of what she learned on their little time together; from the useless information, like measures, likes and dislikes, to the much desired data, on his religion, beliefs, and of course, relationships… Ironwood's smile dropped considerably when he learned that the battle monk was officially engaged to a Vale's citizen, but he accepted that he couldn't have everything he wanted.

"General… why the sudden interest? I mean, I understand that Penny is to be monitored at all times, and that human interaction is part of the experiment, but…" Professor Polendina tried to understand the sudden reaction of the General, but got interrupted.

" _Professor Polendina, I know you are nervous about the incident at the docks, but rest assured, it only served to grade Penny's combat performance and adaptability, which I have to admit is not only impressive, but it blew away all expectative; in fact, I'm certain she is ready for the next phase of the experiment."_ Ironwood said with a noticeable smile on his face, and while this made Penny give a million watt smile, it brought nothing but despair in her father.

"GENERAL! She is not ready!" Professor Polendina shouted, fearing the worst.

" _On the contrary, professor; she is ready. In combat she showed self restrain by not outright killing the enemy, while also showing quick thinking and clarity of judgment to appropriately determine friend from foe; her ability to pass as a fully functional human is also of note, it seems that her quirks makes her seem docile instead of robotic. I understand your hesitation, but distant interaction won't do, she needs to fully infiltrate human society to be properly tested."_ Ironwood explained, quickly cornering the professor, but gaining the attention of Penny.

"Infiltrate?!" Penny asked with alarm, she certainly didn't want to spy on her new and only friends.

" _Pardon my choice of language, I meant partaking in deep social interaction to which you were not exactly… created to do so. Let me clarify it to you, Penny; since you are not, in essence, a complete human, partaking in human society would be considered infiltrating it, not in a military sense, but in a nature sense."_ Ironwood clarified, although Penny still didn't like it.

"How are you proposing to proceed? Her friends attend Beacon Academy, it would not be possible to arrange meetings as often as it's needed for the second stage of the experiment, and they will suspect as the festival gets closer." The professor asked the sensible question, but he didn't like the smile on the General.

" _It is simple; we'll make the registry for the tournament earlier, and will allow the team to mingle with Beacon's students. We can consider this both a test and a mission, a long term one."_ Ironwood half explained, draining the color from the professor, Penny for her part was jumping in joy, for she will be given the opportunity not only to see her friends again, but the added chance of making even more of them.

"General… can you guarantee that her teammates will be chosen accordingly to her needs?" Professor Polendina demanded; Penny may be his creation, but for him she was first and foremost his daughter, if she was going to be separated from him so soon, and for so long, then the least that he would accept would be sensible and caring partners for his sensible child.

" _Of course! I'll personally select her teammates; I assure you that she will have the best of the best, both for protection as well as support. As part of the experiment though, her partners will NOT be informed of her… synthetic nature; this will be to further test Penny's capability of human interaction."_ Ironwood finished, and then cut communications, earning a heavy sigh from the old and tired professor.

"Penny… I know you want this, but, even if it becomes a direct order from the General… just remember that you can return to me if things do not go well… ok?" The professor finally addressed his daughter, who had yet to stop smiling at the turn of events.

"Yes, papa, I promise to return to you if things become ugly." Penny finally said, and then gave a soft hug to the old man, who hugged her back.

In his office, General Ironwood began to select the partners for the prototype, carefully chosen to ensure success in the mission ahead: to get his own slice of the cake that Ozpin so cleverly kept hidden… well, not really hidden, more like not becoming international news right away. Ironwood only got the information about the Edo tribesmen because the Schnee sisters kept in touch, which means that when Winter got the data on the new, and powerful, teachings of Edo, she promptly went to him to share the intel; Ironwood didn't hold a grudge against Ozpin for this underhanded maneuver, and he also knew that Ozpin would not interfere directly with his new plan to win some of the Edo guys to his side. With the information gathered thanks to Weiss, he knew that he needed to target the battle monk, as it was him who was the source of the powerful teachings, which he considered more fit for a disciplined army, and not for the loner hunters.

"Okay… let's see… a control freak, this will make her want to spend as much time as possible with the target. An ultranationalist zealot… this will make her value the target even more, most likely forming a sentimental bond. And for the last slot… well… I guess a troublemaker will do, this will keep the team from being unified, so she will force the target to be on her side…" Ironwood kept rambling as he selected Penny's teammates, all of them were outstanding warriors, worth a small unit of soldiers each, but as a team… well, Kanetsugu was bound to have to deal with Penny quite a lot. Ironwood thought of the possible levels of success, at the least, Penny will be accepted into the cult, and will bring the teachings and skills back to Atlas where they will be put to good use… best case scenario… the battle monk will fall for the prototype, which he was sure could be upgraded to… satisfy the needs of the young man, thus earning the source of the teachings and skills for Atlas.

Beacon's headmaster office…

Teams RWBY and NKRA couldn't make more than three steps in the academy grounds without being called to Ozpin's office, and all of them had the sinking suspicion that this call was a byproduct of their little adventure in the docks; the girls walked with cast down eyes, two of them fearing the punishment, while the other two still reeling for watching death for the first time; the boys, however, walked with their heads held high, while surrounding the girls in a obviously protective way… that's why both Ozpin and Glynda didn't start as soon as they entered the office, allowing about five minutes of a standoff to carry on… until Ozpin finally decided to start.

"Your actions today will be remembered for generations to come, changing the view that many have of our beloved academy…" Ozpin began his ominous speech, making the four girls grimace, and the boys to adopt a defensive stance around the girls.

"So, allow us to be the first to congratulate you all for your first successful rescue mission." Glynda finished, catching the girls by surprise, although this didn't bring a smile to their faces…

"Successful?" Ruby asked with not only surprise, but with sadness too, she actually hoped to be scolded for rushing in, and forcing Kanetsugu to kill someone.

"I must admit that it could have been cleaner, should you had all the required information, a better thought plan of action, and the appropriate support; alas, you had to improvise, and showed adaptability and decision. I only wish you hadn't had to know death so soon in your careers." Ozpin said with sadness, looking at them with unmasked pity and concern, as if mourning their lost innocence.

"Taking the life of another is never easy, and it leaves terrible scars in the heart, even when there was no other way around it; this is why miss Belladonna and miss Xiao Long will be given three days off to attend intensive therapy with the psychologists of the school, so they can overcome the trauma they were subjected to during this ordeal. With that out of the way, team RWBY is free to leave now." Glynda's words seemed caring enough to ease the hearts of the girls, but they didn't take a single step to the elevator, as they felt odd that their boyfriends hadn't been sent along with them.

"We would like to have a word with team NKRA about what happened at the docks, I can assure you that it won't take long." Ozpin tried to reassure the girls, but they weren't buying it, proof of that is that they seemed to steel themselves by the side of the boys, in clear support.

"This is a meeting that must be private." Glynda tried to scare the girls away, but felt pride at seeing them not relenting.

"Ruby, take your team to our favorite spot, we will come along shortly." Nobunaga suddenly said, and Ruby did as told, although her face showed a lot of worry for their wellbeing, so, after a few minutes of hugs and farewells, team NKRA was left alone with the professors.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? WHY IS THERE A POOL OF BLOOD IN DOWNTOWN VALE RIGHT NOW?!" Ozpin shouted as he slammed his hands on his desk full force, making Glynda wince at such show of anger; the young warriors though, only had faces of concern.

"It was as you said; we saved a couple of innocent guards, and were forced to take the lives of some of the offenders, as they did not stop their intent even in the face of death." Nobunaga replied with a straight face; Ozpin seemed about to become violent, when Glynda placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to calm down, even if it was just slightly.

"Really now? The lives of a couple of strangers were enough to unleash this level of violence?" Ozpin asked as he brought up the footage of their fight, showing different angles of the massacre… curiously enough, both Ranmaru and Yang never appeared for more than a second, meaning that he didn't had all the angles… meaning that he didn't know about Yang little problem.

"Of course not, headmaster; but we weren't about to risk the lives of our white knights. We informed you of our holy quest from the beginning, and you were aware of our skill in killing, this shouldn't be a surprise to you." Nobunaga replied, still keeping his straight face, and almost condescending tone; Ozpin's level of hate toward the visionary increased tenfold, this screamed of manipulation, being talked down wasn't helping, at all.

"No, what surprises me is how casually you took lives in such gruesome ways, in front of sensible and innocent girls… I was expecting to deal with broken hearts or pregnancies, not broken minds and bloody hands!" Ozpin shouted once more, but instead of scared or guilty faces, the samurai warriors only frowned in concern.

"When were they supposed to learn to cope with death and killing then? They hail from a school of warriors, so we believed that they should have been exposed to this… only in a lesser scale." Mitsuhide explained, making both professors to grimace, then they remembered that the nomad tribes faced death and killing from a much younger age.

"Combat schools, as well as this Academy, aim to train their students to fight against the Grimm, not to dispense justice in its ultimate sense; that is the job of the law enforcers and justice institutions." Ozpin explained, sounding exasperated while doing so.

"Ah, yes; the law enforcers… we saw them after the fight was over. I hope that the ones squirming at the sight of blood and death are not a prime example of what the rest of their comrades are capable of." Ranmaru interjected, making both professors flinch; that had been a low blow, although a very true point; Glynda had brought up the issue many times, how the police expected the hunters to step in and deal with the most dangerous criminals.

"There is a seminar about the responsibility of taking lives imparted at the end of the last semester… it is not expected of our students to face such decisions before graduation." Glynda explained with a face of sorrow, knowing that while this decision had kept the hunters in a much accepted positive light, it also had them vulnerable when faced with the real world.

"That sounds highly irresponsible." Ranmaru stated, full of disgust; he accepted that he was different, but these kids should be prepared to face such a thing as early as possible, to the point of having their first kill while being under the care of a professional hunter, so they can go through that stage under appropriate surveillance.

"I… know…" Glynda suddenly agreed, much to Ozpin's horror.

"Glynda! We've spoken of this before; we placed all things related to murdering to the last semester to stop another Branwen incident!" Ozpin replied, incensed at having to deal with Glynda's need to have more hardcore hunters in the field.

"Having them go unprepared into the battlefield hasn't been any better." Glynda dejectedly said; Nobunaga quickly noticed that this was going to take a turn for the worst if things continued like this, worse still, at this rate he would make Blake wait too much; he then turned to Kanetsugu, as he was more likely to be heard due to his favored status, also he had the lowest killing count of the battle, which seemed more favorable in the eyes of the professors; Kanetsugu simply nodded, knowing that it was his turn to mediate the growing argument.

"Perhaps, we could find some middle ground; a way to have the best of both worlds, without sacrificing the innocence of the youngest." Kanetsugu suddenly said, earning the attention of both Glynda and Ozpin, successfully stopping their fight.

"Ok, let's listen to the least homicidal of the group." Ozpin said after he had sit down, he didn't miss the face of absolute reprobation from his deputy; Kanetsugu was her most beloved student, and she had gone so far as to defend his standing during the events at the docks, proudly mentioning that he had killed only one terrorist, and only because miss Rose had been in imminent danger… Ozpin had shot down that by remembering her that Ruby had enough aura to shrug off that dagger…

"Teaching them how to kill is obviously against what you believe, but I don't see why they should avoid knowing death. Death is part of life, and one cannot exist without the other; every day the reunite and partake of the fruits of death without knowing, so why don't we let them know and understand that basic principle of life?" Kanetsugu explained, earning confused stares from everyone in the office.

"Could you please explain? I believe I got lost when you accused all my students of being killers." Ozpin said, feeling insulted at such wording.

"Ah! The meat!" Ranmaru suddenly said, making everyone facepalm, Glynda would use this for teasing material, if not for the fact that she didn't caught up that herself.

"Indeed, most children joyfully eat without knowing who was sacrificed to nourish them; I believe that by removing this blindfold, the unbloodied students will be more likely to learn responsibility in the future." Kanetsugu further explained, making Glynda and Ozpin exchange looks; Ozpin thought about it for a minute, and came to the conclusion that it would not cause real harm to the minds and hearts of the students, with the most extreme reaction being the turn to a vegetarian life style for some of the most sensible students, also this would help to shut up Glynda for a while…

"And how would we go around it? An outing to the slaughter house?" Ozpin asked in a much more friendly tone, meaning that the worst had been avoided.

"It would be possible… we may have to go in small groups, and in different dates though." Glynda added, thinking that this was a good first step to gain her much desired change in the curriculum.

"I believe that a more direct approach would be best; a lesson on survival could be a perfect example of a life or death situation, as killing a small animal for nourishment certainly fits the criteria." Mitsuhide added his own thoughts, thinking in helping Weiss to not be hit so hard by what he was sure would come in the future.

"Isn't that a lesson for little children? Wait! I get it! Well played, Mitsuhide; well played!" Ranmaru said while clapping at the end, making fun of his choice of lesson; his joy died when he noticed how seriously the professors were considering that idea.

"I remember professor Port asking for a chance of giving some lessons about survival… this could easily fit with his petition." Glynda said while thinking in more possibilities; Ozpin spent some minutes thinking about it, but in the end, even he considered it a good option.

"I see no harm on it… just make sure that the animals used are not the type that can be used as pets, I still want to avoid unnecessary trauma on the most sensible students." Ozpin finally relented, earning a bright smile on his deputy; on his spot, Nobunaga almost scoffed at what the headmaster said, hunters are not supposed to be sensible people, hunters are supposed to do whatever was needed to hunt down their prey, be it Grimm or otherwise.

"I still want you four to go through a psychological exam, I don't want to hear about murdered students due to some… romantic misunderstanding; much less to know that certain someone's leash was mistakenly loosened as a way of revenge." Ozpin suddenly said, showing that he was not easily misled.

"I'll let you know that my leash is ALWAYS firmly in place." Ranmaru said, obviously feeling insulted at such insinuations, making many of the witnesses to shook their heads at such remark; for Ozpin, it only served to accentuate how dangerous he really was.

"If it helps you to regain your peace of mind and heart, allow me to repeat my oath; I swear by my honor, that neither I, nor anyone under my command will ever purposely hurt, much less kill, any of your students… just remember, we will protect our beloved white knights above all things." Nobunaga stated, bringing both relief and dread to the headmaster; Ozpin knew that the people of Edo would rather die than to break an oath made over their honor, but he was sure that the trice damned visionary would find a way to circumvent it if that meant keeping Blake safe, then again, he made note on using this overprotective nature to his benefit in the future.

"That will suffice, for now at least; you may go now, I'm sure that the members of team RWBY could use some… quality time to get rid of their bad memories about this ordeal." Ozpin dismissed them, allowing Glynda to go and talk to Port; he then sat in silence, contemplating how difficult the tribesmen were proving to be… then again, he was more worried about how to milk them for the best of their teachings, as he knew that sometimes it was impossible to take the good without the bad; his desk suddenly pinged, signaling that he had a call…

" _Ozpin, how are you today?"_ Ironwood's face appeared in the monitor; Ozpin shook his head in annoyance, he knew that this moment would come.

"A little bit peachy, a group of my students found themselves in the middle of a rescue operation; they were successful, but were forced to kill, half of them are taking it very well, the rest will spend a couple of days in therapy, just to be sure." Ozpin explained, hoping in vain to prevent the next change of direction.

" _I'm glad to hear that your students are no longer softies; I certainly see a better future for them, especially if you mean the ones at the docks. It takes skill to train someone to fight like that Ozpin, you have my respect."_ Ironwood's words made Ozpin frown, of course Ironwood would have known, but it bothered him to receive this call right now, and not the next day.

"Keeping an eye on my students now? I thought you were too busy with your army." Ozpin said with a jovial voice, clearly imagining Ironwood frowning at his words.

" _It wasn't intentional, Ozpin. An Atlesian citizen was involved in the fight, the daughter of one of our special scientists; she performed extraordinarily well, and has asked to attend a hunter school. Her father is afraid of her being too far away, so I proposed him to form a mock team and send it to your school, for the festival. This would give her what she wants, should she like that life we may make the team real, but of course, all of this requires your permission."_ Ironwood finished what Ozpin qualified as the most blatant piece of bullshit he had ever heard; Ozpin had seen the girl in action, and he also knew that she was not what she seemed to be, he also knew very well that this had nothing to do with helping a citizen; the girl in question was a friend to Kanetsugu, which means that Ironwood was made aware of the Edo teachings, so the girl would be a catalyst to get his hands on said teachings… that almost made him laugh on the spot…

"Is her father, by chance, one of the scientists working on our joint project?" Ozpin asked with a serious voice, he just needed to confirm his suspicions, and if that was not the case, he could politely refuse, even if that brought a little bit of friction between kingdoms.

" _Actually, yes. That is the reason I'm asking you this favor; as you know, we can't move those scientists from their post, making Beacon the only choice if she wants to taste the life and education of the hunters."_ Ironwood explained, too casually for Ozpin's liking, he actually expected a little bit of apprehension; this also confirmed his suspicions, the girl in the footage was no other than the 'accidental' proof that the soul transfer mechanism was fully operational.

"I see, is there any special considerations to make?" Ozpin asked, half expecting him to confess the nature of the anomaly.

" _None whatsoever. Her father and I require that she tastes the real thing, so she makes up her mind; he expects her to return home by the end of the week, although I believe you'll agree about her potential."_ Ironwood's words earned a chuckle form Ozpin, although it wasn't an acknowledgment on the skill of the girl.

"Yes of course; well, I can't refuse to something so harmless, so, when can I expect the arrival of this team of yours?" Ozpin asked, knowing that there was no way for him to decline this, and walk free of reprisal, he really needed that mechanism.

" _Give me a week to find a group of cadets worth of the approval of her father, then you'll receive them at your door, and of course, you'll have their dossiers in a day or two; I'll even make them believe this is a mock mission about infiltration, so feel free to tell me if they show inappropriate behavior."_ Ironwood replied, sounding almost sincere, then they said their farewells, with false promises to keep in touch, Ozpin almost failed to resist the urge to hit his desk again.

"Perhaps I was too hasty in scolding the tribesmen… perhaps I can arrange a small accident to prevent that anomaly from acquiring that knowledge… No, too obvious… Maybe I should let mister Oda deal with this… I would only need to give him a general warning about possible hidden intentions… and then I could watch that dog of his working… and keeping the record for myself." Ozpin's rambling began to turn even darker as he kept going on, then stopped himself, as a leader of the light such thoughts were forbidden to him, and he would not entertain them anymore… the simple knowledge that Nobunaga would clean up was enough.

His scroll pinged, showing that he had a text message, seeing that it was from Qrow almost made him sick, the contents had a stronger effect though…

 **Queen has pawns**

Ozpin began to reconsider the idea of using the tribesmen as personal weapons…

The next day…

Professor Polendina watched the assembled team with wary eyes, he didn't like them, but the General insisted in them being perfect for the mission, he assured him that they would see the mission to the end… he idly wondered if by the mission he meant Penny's security.

"Penny Polendina, Ciel Soleil, Leo Aurus and Kage Tamashii; the four of you have been selected to perform a mock mission related to the Vytal Festival. You will form a team to participate in the incoming tournament, but will have to pass as students from the Atlesian Academy. The main objective is for you to prove that you have what it takes to enter the black ops division, this will be achieved by keeping your cover as students, and not giving away your status as cadets, is there any questions?" Ironwood's hologram asked to the assembled youngsters, a girl with dark skin raised her hand, her rigid posture a firm testament of her upbringing; Ironwood merely nodded at her to make her question.

"Are there any special parameters besides the cover up and the participation in the tournament?" The girl asked, obviously expecting more orders.

"Of course, as you may have noticed, miss Polendina is not part of the army, she, however, will be your team leader; she is extremely smart, and this mission will serve to grade her for a possible post as an analyst within our ranks, this in turn will serve you and mister Aurus as invaluable experience when dealing with VIPs." Ironwood explained, making Penny feel uncomfortable; the other girl however, just looked at her for a couple of seconds, then addressed the General.

"Understood, sir; no more questions." With her reply she let them all know that she will follow the orders to the letter, even if she didn't like them; jumping from logistics to black ops was her dream, and she will baby sit a spoiled brat for years if that was what it takes to achieve it.

"Good, any more questions?" Ironwood asked now, expecting no more of it.

"Yeah, what am I doing here?" A young guy with blazing red hair and matching jacket asked with no respect whatsoever, this of course earned him glares from the dark skinned girl and the other guy, Ironwood merely shook his head.

"In order to answer that, allow me to go into the details of the mission; as you may have noticed, the basic parameters of the mission are too simple for a black ops test, so you will have individual missions to accomplish." Ironwood began to explain, and the four youngsters stood to attention.

"Miss Polendina will be graded on her leadership and ability to gain the trust of the people, Cadet Soleil will be in charge of reporting her advancements and failures, but will not interfere with her attempts, unless miss Polendina asks for her input; at the same time, I expect detailed reports on her activities and data about the people she interacts with; is that clear?" Ironwood explained in little detail their orders, to which both girls nodded. Professor Polendina understood the orders though, this girl, Ciel, will be the one giving the reports on Penny's behavior, her orders to not interfere seemed weird, as he actually expected her to be ordered to interfere if Penny jeopardized their mission.

"Now, mister Tamashii; you have a very interesting record… disobeying direct orders on a field exercise in the border…" Ironwood began to say, making the two cadets glare in the direction of the rebellious guy, who didn't allowed the reading without interrupting.

"I wasn't going to abandon my two fellows and the serge just because the lieutenant was scared of a pack of ursai! Ask the serge, she will tell you I made the right call." Kage said with a lot of pride on his voice, this earned confused stares from the cadets.

"Your lieutenant was KIA during that exercise." Ironwood added, earning scared looks from the cadets and the professor.

"He ran in a random direction when the serge and the others appeared with the ursai chasing them; it's not my fault that the idiot ran straight into a king taijitu." Kage defended, although even he knew that such words weren't enough for the court.

"I know. Additionally, you were charged with insubordination and assault to a superior officer during training…" Ironwood continued, but got interrupted again.

"He wanted me to beat the crap out of a fellow soldier for being late for training." Kage said with unmistakable hatred, this of course confused the cadets.

"That is standard procedure during the drills." Leo said from the lines, more to himself than to anyone else, although Ciel nodded, and Kage exploded…

"The girl was on her period! She only needed a couple of extra minutes to attend her… problem… there was no need to beat her!" Kage defended his point, and while Ciel could understand the situation, it still wasn't that extreme as if to add assault…

"You broke the legs of the drill instructor." Ironwood informed, making the others flinch.

"The motherfucker aimed his gun between her legs, trying to 'solve future problems', I should have broken his spine too…" Kage added, and then the professor knew what his role would be… this was the unchained dog that no doubt would protect his precious Penny, even if that earned him a life time in prison…

"Anyway, your career as a soldier is gone, at least as far as the academy concerns, however, I see too much potential to just let it go to waste in a mere farm; cadet Aurus will have the task to monitor your activity during this mission, should you act according to moral standards and complete the mission with Penny being safe and unscathed, I'll personally recommend you for a permanent post as VIP's bodyguard duty; that being said, Penny will be the one deciding when and how you'll be awarded or punished by your actions, with cadet Aurus only acting by her orders, the only exception being if your actions endanger the VIP, in which case cadet Aurus will act according to protocol, is that understood?" Ironwood explained, and then everyone had their eyes wide open in surprise; VIP's guard duty was one of the best paid jobs in the kingdom, with very little effort for the soldier in question, it was obvious that the troublemaker was going to give his skin for Penny's well being with that kind of reward in the line; when everyone nodded, Ironwood knew that he had assembled a good group of idiots, too blinded by the rewards to even question how long the mission would take, or what they had to look out for, and with everyone thinking in the rewards, Penny would find them unsuited for friendship, pushing her more toward the real target.

"Good, you'll be sent to Beacon Academy in one week, in the mean time, you'll have to study your fake backgrounds and get to know each other; the headmaster of the academy is aware of the exercise, so you can approach him for support should you need it, but the rest of the students, as well as the academy staff are to remain unaware, which means that it is expected of you to act like a team, with certain degree of friendship. I'll leave you to it now, for the mission starts in this moment; good luck." Ironwood said as his hologram disappeared, leaving the youngsters to fend for themselves.

"Well, it seems we are going to be good friends for now on!" Penny said with unmasked happiness, and certain quirky moves, her enthusiasm died quite quickly though.

"As you order, commander." Leo replied with a salute, being mimicked by Ciel; only Kage gave a thumb up, but with such reward on the horizon, his sincerity was somewhat questionable.

"Give it time, Penny; friendship takes time to be achieved." The professor said in a condescending tone, for he understood that Penny actually expected them to instantly become her friends; Penny could only hope the week to end soon, as she really wanted to be with Ruby and Kanetsugu, her real friends.

Back at Beacon Academy…

Professor Port's class had started in a very different note; the students were instantly drawn to the corralled little pigs, and when he asked each team to take one of the little things, little fights started about who was going to pet the adorable creatures, most didn't notice the large table with the large knives, not the area prepared to start fires, or the pots…

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Ruby stated while looking at the ignored tools; she may be naïve and innocent, but being raised in a rural community made her very aware of the importance of the food chain… she looked at Weiss, who was making cooing sounds on their chosen pig, and felt sorry for her; she and Yang once hunted a wild boar once, and had a rather traumatizing experience when they reached the point of killing and cooking the animal, she doubted that the heiress even knew that the meat of their meals came from living things.

"Pyrrha, please, don't name it." Jaune asked to his partner in absolute distress, he knew what was going to happen, for he had done it before back in the villa, with his family; he had suffered a lot the first time, when he was only seven years old… right now Pyrrha was acting like a toddler with a new pet, spinning it around, and cooing it… she seemed to not notice Nora salivating hungrily at the little animal, nor Ren trying to choose the best knives in advance.

"Today you'll learn an extremely important lesson on survival, for this may be the difference between life or death, especially in extremely long missions far away from civilization; today you'll learn to cook a meal full of vital proteins to keep you strong!" Professor Port started his explanation, earning confused stares from certain city raised students.

"And where is the meat for the dish?" Weiss asked in honest confusion, making Ruby face palm.

"You are holding it." Professor Port deadpanned. Ruby watched her partner exchange glances between Port and the pig in her hands, first in confusion, then in disbelief, and finally in horror.

"NO! You can't expect us to murder these cute things!" Pyrrha screamed while hugging her pig in an overprotective fashion, Jaune could only cover his face in embarrassment, although by the looks of many students, more than one shared her opinion.

"I see… well; if anyone else thinks that you can't go through this, please raise your hand." Port asked, just as Nobunaga proposed, and just as the visionary predicted, at least one of each team raised their hands.

"Very well, the ones who raised your hands… will do the killing." Port replied as suggested, for he agreed with the reasoning, weak links should be strengthened, not removed… better to start early.

"WHAT?!" Weiss and Pyrrha shouted with broken voices, and then Ruby and Jaune knew that their shoulders will become wet with tears… although Ruby had the faint hope of Mitsuhide being the shoulder that Weiss will use…

* * *

 **Magnus:** I hope you enjoyed it, and yes, this is the beginning for Penny's good ending. Should I add an extra chapter on this team trying to get along?


	15. Intermission

**Magnus:** Here goes the extra chapter, I hope this can give some information on the new team, at least enough for me to not have to give them too much extra camera time.

 **Disclaimer:** Kage Tamashii belongs to Kage Bijuu, everything else belong to their respective creators.

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

 **Intermission**

The newly formed team PSTL (Pastel) was reunited in the apartment of the old Professor Polendina, they had only five days to get their act together, to ensure success in their mission, but Penny was at a loss; when the orders were given, she was absolutely sure that they included acting with a degree of friendship… heck, she could reply the orders, with the very voice of the General, knowing that that little part was there; but for the life of her, she couldn't understand why her team seemed to not understand the obviously understandable…

"Ok, how do we start this?" Kage asked as he made some flexions; he looked like an easy-going guy, always smiling, always cheerful, and still, the other two seemed to look at him with no little despise…

"As the commander sees fit." Leo replied curtly; now, outside of the cadet school, he was donning his battle gear, a large black overcoat with golden accents, adorned with insignias of the ancient Atlesian army, his golden slicked back hair was covered with a peaked cap, sporting a symbol of a double headed eagle with its wings spread… all of it a painful contrast to Kage's outfit, some simple jeans with combat boots, and a black tank top covered by his bright red jacket…

"Well, why don't we present ourselves, telling our names, likes and dislikes, as well as our dreams for the future?" Penny suggested, as cheerful as always; she really wanted to know them, the real people behind the assignment… but they were doing an amazing job at making it harder than needed…

"Isn't that… you know… a little bit cliché?" Kage asked, his intentions a little bit unclear; he didn't sound as if opposing, nor uncooperative… Penny idly wondered if she used the wrong reference to the formation of teams, perhaps ninja literature was wrong… she made a note to ask the Edo guys about it when she has the chance.

"Actually, it is a good idea. The fake backgrounds do not include such personal information, and such data would be expected knowledge on our behavior." Ciel countered, although she actually sounded as if she didn't like the idea; her navy blue skirt and white blouse seemed to not do a good job at hiding her military upbringing… the beret was a dead giveaway.

"Like leaving blanks for us to fill, so we don't contradict ourselves with what we do?" Kage asked, showing that he actually had a brain.

"That's a way to put it, it also means we can be pretty much ourselves while in the field… quite a basic exercise, I was expecting to masquerade a different persona." Ciel added, sounding a little bit disappointed.

"So, who would like to start?" Penny asked, trying to start knowing them, while wondering why they couldn't give her their friendship… Ruby and Kanetsugu didn't had a problem with that, and very easily began to get to know her… was that an Edo thing?

"Perhaps if you start, we could follow your example, commander." Leo replied; as cooperative as he was, Penny disliked his lack of emotion… she even noticed that she had much more emotion than the large blonde.

"Ok, ahem… Hi! My name is Penny Polendina, but my friends call me Penny, so you can call me that too! I like all pretty colors, ice cream and chocolate; I don't like mint and people that want to hurt my friends. My dream is to have many many friends!" Penny made her presentation with so much cheerfulness that she seemed to glow, her radiant smile could be considered contagious, and the light in her eyes could feel anyone with hope… well, almost anyone.

"That was cool!" Kage said while clapping, a rather cute but idiotic smile adorning his face… the other two seemed to be made of stone…

"Any particular reason for your dislike of mint?" Leo asked, seemingly worried for the first time; Penny had hopes of that being the start of a friendship bond.

"I tasted it once, and found it revolting; now when I see the color, I remember the taste… it's not pleasant…" Penny replied, her face contorting involuntarily at the thought of that flavor and color.

"Well my name is Kage Tamashii. I love fire and I love freedom very much. I have a problem with authority and I just can't stand seeing a woman in distress without exploding… Not literally… Hell I will break any fucking bastard that tries to cause them distress." Kage end his speech vulgarly, just to receive a slap in the back of his head, courtesy of a stern looking Leo.

"Language! There are two ladies among us, so vulgar words will not be tolerated!" Leo reprimanded the red head troublemaker.

"YIKES! Didn't the general say that Penny would be the one telling you how to punish me?" Kage asked as he put some distance between him and the stern guy.

"I agree with Leo… I don't like that language, at all. Papa says it's only used by bad people." Penny suddenly said, making Leo and Kage to nod in understanding, but Ciel just rolled her eyes, judging Penny as a classical daddy's girl.

"My turn then; my name is Ciel Soleil; I like order and timing my efficiency, I dislike disorder and inefficiency; my dream for the future is to become the most efficient Black Ops operative of Atlas." Ciel declared, with a voice that hinted to pride; on her spot, Penny frowned in worry, but it was Kage who voiced what she couldn't say.

"Control freak…" Kage muttered, although loud enough to be clearly heard.

"WHAT?" Ciel lost composure for the first time since she met them; slightly filling Penny with hope at such demonstration of human emotions… too bad she had to intervene to prevent a fight.

"He is not wrong, although I may have used different words; maybe you should use a different wording… or speech pattern?" Penny said, making Kage laugh loudly, especially when it become obvious that Ciel got even angrier.

"What is wrong with the way I talk, commander?" Ciel asked, still sounding angry.

"Nothing! Hic! I mean… anyone is going to be able to tell you were raised in the army, and I'm pretty sure that is against the orders." Penny managed to reply; she was rather thankful when no one paid attention to her most weird quirk.

"The commander is right; a more civilian behavior will be more beneficial for the mission." Leo agreed, although his words were not well received.

"Says the guy whose non-military outfit is an archaic military outfit." Ciel replied with a noticeable amount of animosity; Penny couldn't help but to notice that Leo's growl was akin to the one of a large feline predator.

"Leo… it's your turn to introduce yourself." Penny said to the blonde, trying to stop any potential fights; as much as she didn't like how distant they were to her, she didn't want the mission cancelled, for she knew that at least she'll be reunited with her true friends.

"Of course, commander; my name is Leo Aurus, I like combat and challenge, I dislike those who don't understand their place; my dream is to return the old glory to my family name." Leo presented himself, obviously struggling to remove all military terms from his speech.

"Old glory?" Kage asked, puzzled by such odd wording.

"Before the end of the Great War, there was a special rank among the Atlesian army, the Commissar; the last Commissar recorded was a man named Lyon Aurus. The title Commissar carried a lot of respect, and fear; on both sides of the battlefield. I think Leo wants to reenact such rank?" Penny answered in place of the blonde, leaving everyone truly surprised.

"Ok, the General wasn't exaggerating when he called you smart." Ciel conceded, for even she lacked that information.

"Agreed." Both Kage and Leo added.

"Well… I had a sheltered life, so… I could only study." Penny said, both as the truth, and as a way to avoid uncomfortable questions.

"Well, now you can have some fun too!" Kage suddenly said, making Penny give a large and precious smile; it could have grown into her million watt smile, if not for the sudden interruption.

"We are not here for fun. This is a mission, a test to further advance our careers, and in your case it's your last chance to save your career; now be more serious about this." Ciel suddenly reprimanded the red headed troublemaker, making Penny's smile turn into a grimace.

"Geez! Chill out, control freak." Kage shot back, already resenting the attempt to control him.

"According to the mission parameters, we are to act in friendly terms of camaraderie during our stance at Beacon Academy; chilling out, as you say, does not apply to our current situation." Leo stated, and then the three soldiers descended into an argument about how and when they were going to behave as stated in the mission details; Penny looked at each one with a sad face, and then turned to enter her room, idly wondering if by going to bed early she could make time go faster… then she remembered that she only slept one hour per week, and only because she had to be plugged on to be recharged, diagnosed and maintained; it was going to be a very long week.

The next day…

Team PSTL reunited in a conveniently near park, it wasn't an optimal place for a military operation, but it was isolated enough to provide the needed privacy; it had been Kage's idea, a way to apologize to their commanding officer, because it took them almost three hours to notice that Penny was no longer with them, and fifteen minutes of an earful of a harsh reprimand, because Ironwood had the decency of remembering them that Penny was a civilian, and as such, they couldn't expect her to understand their military upbringing… what he didn't tell them, is that he didn't want them to sabotage the mission before reaching Beacon.

"We are sorry, commander. We forgot your status and background, thing that we should have in mind at all times. I'm ready for whatever punishment you see fit for me." Leo said, although Penny would have liked if he sounded less stern and more apologetic.

"It's ok… I guess I expected you to act too friendly too soon. Why don't we put that behind, and continue, it would be nice if you could call me by my name, Leo." Penny replied with a heart melting smile, which banished when she noticed the blonde guy frowning.

"As you wish, comm… I mean, Miss Polendina." Leo's answer was stiff, and painfully forced; it left Penny with the urge to leave and silently wait for the week to end, but the need to have friends made her stay… she didn't had high hopes tough.

"Hey, moron! If you make her cry, I'll break you in half!" Kage suddenly shouted, not liking how Penny had stopped smiling; his outcry had the others surprised though.

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked in honest confusion.

"She wanted you to use her first name; not using it is an insult!" Kage half explained, and while Penny hadn't feel insulted by such an action, she felt that this could be used as a step to break this thick ice.

"So, the womanizer had decided to share his wisdom, eh?" Ciel said in a rare show of humor, this made Kage to turn away and become eerily silent.

"The what?" Penny asked in confusion, she hadn't seen Kage going after any female gendered person, and his profile didn't say anything about such proclivity.

"Jokes aside, I believe this is a good strategy; we'll need to call each other by name once we reach the academy, better to start early; isn't that right, Penny?." Ciel continued, finally siding with Penny.

"I see… then I apologize for the misunderstanding… errr… Penny." Leo said, he sounded as if struggling, but due to shame, as if using her name had a deeper meaning; Penny for her part gave them a bright smile, the likes that could take away the darkness.

"You know, I really like when you smile like that, Penny." Kage said, a little bit more softly than his normal pattern speech, and looking directly to her eyes; Penny instantly broke eye contact, not wanting him to accidentally notice that her eyes were not exactly human, the rest of her team mistake this for shyness and reading too much in the commentary.

"No hitting on Penny, or I'll report you immediately." Ciel warned, although she lacked strength, as if actually wanted that to happen, if only to make a full report.

"WHAT?!" Both Penny and Kage shouted at the same time, the first wondering what they were talking about, and the second fearing to be misunderstood on his intent… he considered Penny cute, but trying to go that far with her? Not without forming a solid friendship first; even then he doubted someone like her would like an idiot like him.

"She is right, Penny is too good for someone like you; also remember the protocol, if you try to force yourself on her, I'll enact it." Leo warned, making Kage grimace, not because he feared the protocol, but because he felt insulted by someone thinking that he would act like that; Penny didn't like how that sounded, for the protocol meant shooting first, and ask later, not like she would need the protection, because she had studied her teammates, and none had the capabilities to bring her any direct harm.

"Why can't we be friends?" Penny finally muttered, unintentionally earning the attention of her team.

"Right, we need to practice, or our cover will be blown over." Ciel quickly replied, completely misunderstanding Penny's intent.

"And how do we do that?" Kage asked the sensible question, for none of them had knowledge on civilian friendship…

"Well, we could always try to eat some ice cream together, and then we could talk about things we like." Penny awkwardly proposed, hoping to imitate that wonderful afternoon she spent with her friends.

"As you say, com… I mean, Penny." Leo awkwardly replied, and then departed to get the frosty treat… they couldn't think of anything to make conversation though…

Two days later…

After some attempts to have friendly conversation, and failing for the most part, Leo decided to have something different, more akin to their upbringing; so, they rented a secluded gym to show off their weapons and combat styles, a sensible thing, considering that the academy would believe they could do teamwork.

"As I proposed this, I believe is only fair for me to start; these are my weapons: Jack and Ripper." Leo stated as he unfolded a rather large handgun, with frightening large hole to spit bullets that no doubt were too large to be any less than deadly, the other weapon looked like a sword, but it was too box-like, with the edge coming out of the side of the box, it seemed unwieldy, and not too functional.

"Woah! Nice hand-canon, what are you hunting? Goliaths?" Ciel asked in surprise, it had been a long time since she had seen such a large one handed weapon, the last being the General's gun.

"As long as it isn't for compensating something…" Kage added, making the blonde growl, one again like some angry animal.

"Compensating for what?" Penny innocently asked, making Leo growl even deeper.

"So, the handbrake of your boxy sword is meant to do something?" Ciel asked, just in time to divert Leo's anger; Leo replied by activating the mechanism, making the edge of the sword separate in multiple metal fangs, and then they began to move as if in a band, the rest of the team gave a step back in reaction.

"Hey! Aren't chainsaws banned or something?" Kage asked in obvious alarm, chainsaw weapons had a vicious habit of eating away the aura at extremely high speeds.

"According to the law revision three years ago, no; however it is asked of chainsaw users to never aim for vitals." Penny informed, the others could have smiled at her smartness, but Leo's grin was too unsettling.

"My combat style is very simple and effective; I excel at getting close to my target while shooting, if the target still stands after the explosive rounds, then I cut it down with the Ripper." Leo explained, while making aim motions with the gun, and then making a few swings with his chainsaw blade.

"Ah! Frontline grunt style, not bad. Penny, you should remember to always be away from him." Kage said with a mocking voice and a large smile; his words though, were received as well meant.

"That is true; Leo, can you fight in melee with companions in close proximity?" Ciel asked, a little bit wary of being near him during a full blown fight.

"That would be unadvisable, at least when I use Ripper in chainsaw mode; I guess if I use it on blade mode the danger of harming a comrade would be minimal, but that would reduce the combat effectiveness." Leo replied, sounding serious, but not relenting on his use of bloody and messy tools.

"No offence buddy, but no one would like to be near you with that thing roaring like a beast." Kage added, frowning at the same time he smiled, Leo replied with a sadistic grin of his own.

"None taken." Leo replied, glad that someone had understood the effectiveness of his favored weapon.

"My turn, I guess; this is my Storm Drum." Ciel said as she pulled out a slightly larger than normal SMG, there were several differences when compared to the normal Atlesian model though.

"Oh, drum magazine for added ammo capacity, recoil compensator for less spread, and even a handle for easier hip fire." Penny said after she had scanned the weapon, barealy a second since Ciel had pulled it out.

"Well I'll be… you are right! No wonder the General wants you as an analyst." Ciel stated in awe, while the mods added to her weapon were not unknown, or too special, she didn't expect them to be recognized so fast.

"So, you like to go Gangster style?" Kage asked after he had looked up the weapon, and her rather relaxed stance.

"It's light support fire! Why does everyone say I'm a gangster?" Ciel answered with an exasperated voice, she really hoped that this gangster nickname would not spread on Beacon, or she will lose her temper.

"Do you think you can make a spry attack during a melee rush?" Leo asked, trying to bring the conversation back on topic.

"Well, I can force a crowd to line up for you… just don't ask me to shoot over your shoulder, it never works." Ciel replied with honesty, already trying to figure how to do team work.

"My turn! This is my Volcano Pike!" Kage said, with a little too much happiness; he pulled two identical short pikes from his back, the end blades had the shape of tridents, and the other end had a suspicious looking handle.

"Looks, nice, not what I expected from an atlesian though." Penny stated with a little bit of puzzlement, so far the other two were more what she expected, with guns and standard styles, not that she disregarded Kage and his melee weapons, being a melee user herself.

"Just watch me dance, babe." Kage said as he began to dance, while wielding the short pikes, making patterns that left no doubt to the level of carnage he would bring upon an unsuspecting and unprepared enemy, or more likely, group of enemies, then he slammed the handles together, and the weapon took it's real form, a double bladed staff… then the blades caught fire… and Kage gained even more speed, going into an acrobatic display of skill.

"Ok, I'm impressed; but can you do that with any of us nearby?" Ciel asked to the still dancing pyromaniac.

"Glad you asked!" Kage shouted while suddenly dancing among them, making motions, as if attacking invisible enemies between his teammates; he never lost any speed, and neither the fire or the blades were any close to harm the others, by the end of it, he shot the flames away, and separated the pikes to their dual form.

"That was gorgeous!" Penny praised while clapping; her vibrant smile made Kage smile in return, making him feel great for pleasing the girl.

"There is a lot of potential in that style; you'll make a great VIP's bodyguard after this mission." Leo gave his own praise, although that had the unintended effect of remembering Penny that this was not her team to enjoy, but a bunch of cadets wanting a promotion… it stood to reason that they would want to see her happy, if only to get what they want.

"Do you think you can stop bullets with those?" Ciel asked, figuring that at least he would make a decent shield for the VIP.

"Semi-auto and bursts, yeah, no problem; Full-auto… not for long." Kage replied, dropping his smile at the end, as if remembering something, like failing to protect someone.

"I could draw attention, being a high threat my force all automatic fire to rain on me." Leo suddenly said, making Penny grimace at such fatalistic tactic.

"And I can gun down those who evade you, or try to outflank your assault; all while Kage here stay as a defensive countermeasure." Ciel completed, forming a sound strategy.

"I don't need that much protection." Penny suddenly said, although she sounded a little bit shy.

"But that's why we are here; we are the muscle and you the brains, am I right?" Kage said, summarizing what they understood of the mission; Leo and Ciel seemed to agree with his statement, but Penny's frown spoke of the contrary.

"I'll have you know that I'm combat ready!" Penny suddenly said, a little bit angry for being underestimated; she had expected it from Weiss, just as she felt joyful when Mitsuhide actually spoke on her behalf and how well prepared she could be, Ruby and Kanetsugu though, had made an excellent work on praising her flying sword technique… that had changed her, that had let her know pride.

"I mean no disrespect, but what kind of combat capabilities could you have… being a nerdy… girl…" Ciel's speech died in her throat as Penny brought out her weapons; a dozen of swords seemed to float around her, as if answering to her mind; then the swords began to follow the patterns that she was tracing with her fingers, obeying her commands with speed and precision; simple moves of her hands made the swords dance, slight strokes of her fingers made the blades go back and forth, a single motion made them form a shield of rotating blades, and then she threw her hands to the sides, and the swords darted everywhere in seemingly erratic patterns, as if trying to skewer dozens of targets, but never touching her teammates, even when the blades passed them by less than an inch; Penny finished by moving the swords to her back, forming a pattern that resembled wings, then she smiled at her teammates, obviously expecting praise, but was met with distraught faces…

"So… what are we supposed to defend her against?" Kage asked, slightly overwhelmed by a style of combat that far surpassed his own; Ciel tried to form a reply, but couldn't, which made her look as if trying to speak with her hands, which were making senseless motions; Leo just stared at Penny, his face speaking of disbelief.

"Penny… it'll be an honor to serve by your side!" Leo suddenly said as he got closer, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Huh?" Penny simply couldn't understand the statement; she had applied for an analyst, in case she couldn't lead a more pleasant lifestyle, while he wanted to be in the frontlines, it just didn't make sense.

"With our strengths combined, we'll mow down all opposition against Atlas; we won't leave anyone alive!" Leo finished his speech, his zealous voice carried strength and conviction, but got the wrong reaction; Penny frowned, seemingly furious at his choice of words, Kage was about to intervene, but didn't had the chance, for Penny slapped the blonde guy, sending him to the floor, with a red mark of a hand adorning his face.

"I'M NOT A KILLING MACHINE!" Penny furiously said, and then turned to walk away, leaving a scared team behind. While it was true that her body belonged to a combat model, she felt that her calling was to protect the people, and to enjoy peace, which made the insult all the worse.

"GREAT! You made her angry!" Kage shouted as he held his head in distress; he would have punched the zealot, had not he shared his thoughts.

"What… what did I say?" Leo asked, still in the ground, still reeling by the amazing strength of the VIP.

"She applied for an analyst post… I think she is a pacifist." Ciel suddenly said, feeling guilty and worried.

"With that kind of combat prowess?!" Leo exclaimed his surprise.

"Maybe she wanted to be strong to protect people… not to slay them." Kage suddenly said, distress evident on his voice, feeling the need to cheer up the girl that had left with such horrible angry face.

"Do you think she will report us to the General?" Ciel finally said the question that would haunt them for the rest of the day…

One day before going to Beacon Academy…

Penny was still on her room, hugging her pillow while watching the clock, impatiently waiting for the moment she could reach her friends; she hadn't reported her teammates to the General out of fear of him cancelling the mission, and had vehemently explained to her father that she was willing to work with them in order to finally attend school… forgiving them was a very different thing, especially when the trio of idiots hadn't had the decency of calling her or make a visit to ask forgiveness.

"Penny, are you awake? Can I come in?" Her father's voice came from just outside her door; he, better than anyone, knew that such questions were pointless, for she didn't sleep, and was forbidden to lock the door, that's why it made it all the more sweet, he treated her like his true daughter, thing that she loved to the core.

"Yes, papa." Penny replied, and barely a second later, the aged professor entered, looking at her with loving and worried eyes.

"How do you feel, Penny?" The professor asked, noticing how she tightened the grip on her pillow.

"Much less angry than before… but I'm still angry; I still believe that I can cook for you, there is no need to stop me from doing chores." Penny replied, trying to communicate that she was fully functional, despite the emotions.

"Emotions are something you need your entire focus to deal with, so no chores for you; that being said, you have some visitors." The professor stated, and Penny let out a sigh; she didn't thought they would come, and now she didn't know how to deal with them.

"Thanks, papa; I'll go… in a minute." Penny replied, and then tried to judge what would be better, greet them with a smile, in hopes to facilitate cooperation for the mission, or show her anger, in hopes of making them understand how much they hurt her.

When Penny finally decided to meet them, she was surprised; her teammates were holding a large bucket of chocolate ice cream, a box of chocolate covered marshmallows, and a chocolate cake… it was a poor attempt at buying her forgiveness, but an attempt nonetheless; Penny wondered if she should let them believe that food was a way of dealing with her or not, it could mean free chocolate, but also would make her seem like a materialist girl.

"We wanted to tell you that we are sorry, Penny." Kage was the first to speak, sounding sincere and pained.

"Yes, I should have seen that you are someone who believes in peace… if I insulted you… I'm sorry." Leo followed, with a downcast face.

"It's my fault; I should have remembered your background earlier, preventing this from ever happening." Ciel explained, making sure to not make eye contact; Penny instantly noticed that they were trying to make amends… for the mission.

"I think I should have made my point earlier and clearly, and not simply show my skill; I think we can start again, and try to move forward… so long you accept me as I am." Penny replied, knowing better than to remain angry, so she decided to get along with them… for the mission, for her friends.

"We'll do, so… friends?" Kage finally asked, while the other two showed faces of relief; his final question could have brought a large smile on Penny's face, but since he had the most to gain from the mission, she doubted his sincerity, even when her biometric scans showed that he was honest… so she only smiled slightly.

"My daughter is a very sensible person, so please, don't make her angry again." The professor joined the conversation, and while his words spoke of unending love for his child, the three idiots saw on his eyes unspoken threats of retribution should they hurt her feelings… again.

That night at Beacon Academy, team NKRA's dorm room…

Kanetsugu looked at the cards arranged before him, his face a stern visage of worry, his eyes flashing with determination, and his hands balled in fury.

"The abyss is making its move…" Kanetsugu's voice took an ominous tone, making the rest of his team to grimace.

"What did you see?" Nobunaga asked, hoping to get a little bit of insight, hoping to protect Blake from the abyss, by any means necessary.

"We cannot hope to stop the darkness, and protect our precious ones without sacrifice… not alone." Kanetsugu replied, apparently evading the question.

"We are ready to die for them, and kill for them; there shouldn't be too much trouble." Mitsuhide stated, but then had to back off when he saw Kanetsugu's eyes; he was channeling the will of the heavens, and the fury of an overprotective lover.

"The time has come to speak with the white knights, and warn them of the evil to come; ignorance will only spread doom." Kanetsugu stated, and both Nobunaga and Ranmaru felt an overwhelming need to flee; only their need to protect what they loved had them standing still.

"Very well, we'll speak to them; but we need to think on what to tell them." Nobunaga finally said; he didn't fail to notice that Kanetsugu had returned to his divination, as if trying to see all the possible paths.

"Yeah, they won't believe if we tell them we are not from their world, or time… or their age range…" Ranmaru added, sending them into deep thought… they will spend a long night pondering how to approach the girls.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Finally! Next chapter will begin season 2; but for those who expéct the food fight scene... I'm heavily inclined to not include it, as I have other plans.


	16. Revelations

**Magnus:** Here comes the reveal! Although I'm sure it will not play as some my imagine, still, this will set the mood for all the changes that will come, because many things will play VERY differently.

 **Disclaimer:** Kage Bijuu has claimed ownership of Kage Tamashii, other than that, nothing has changed.

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

 **Revelations**

Team RWBY woke up to another wonderful morning in Beacon, with just one more week before classes begin again, they couldn't help but to look forward to all the wonderful time to spend in the arms of their respective boyfriends. Weiss and Mitsuhide had upgraded their relationship to hold hands and sitting closer in public, it seemed pretty tame in comparison to the others though; Blake and Nobunaga had been even less discrete, engaging in seriously deep kisses and intimate caresses even in public, thankfully though, they never went like this in class; Yang and Ranmaru, more often than not, were away from everyone's sight, leading many to believe that they were extremely pervert in their doings, more with the knowledge that Ranmaru was not a girl, which become widespread when team CRDL caught Ranmaru in the showers, without a towel; Ruby and Kanetsugu were simply themselves, holding hands, sitting so close they were always touching, and sharing chaste kisses, but with the added declaration of love, and future marriage. Today was supposed to be like just another day, full of delightful romance… until a knock sounded at their door.

"Yes? Oh! It's for you, Weiss-cream." Yang said as she opened the door, expecting to find Ranmaru, but instead she found Mitsuhide, not that she minded.

"Actually, I came for the four of you; we all need to discuss something with you four… and it is of utmost importance." Mitsuhide stated, sounding so serious that the girls cringed; they hoped that this wasn't a case of breaking relationships…

Team RWBY followed the samurai, finding the silence to be eternal, even when they were going just next door, there Mitsuhide stopped without opening it, turning to look at them with worried and sad eyes…

"Before we go in, let me tell you something: We love you, with our entire hearts and souls, and this won't change with what will happen next." Mitsuhide's words filled the hearts of the girls with worry, and now feared that they had to return to their tribe… that made them all consider the option to follow them…

It was not the first time that the members of team RWBY had entered that room, but it was the first time they weren't greeted with hugs and words of love… and they didn't like it.

"Girls, please sit down, we have a lot to discuss." Nobunaga said, sounding worried, thing that was scary on its own.

"Hum… what's going on?" Ruby nervously asked, to her, the most disturbing thing was Kanetsugu, who seemed not only worried, but angry too.

"The time has come for you to learn why we are here, and for you to decide what will become of your future." Kanetsugu replied with an ominous voice, the fact that he had several cards and talismans in front of him made it look like a divination session, not that it eased the minds of the girls, because they had learned that Kanetsugu's readings were scarily accurate.

"We came to your land because it was imposed to us; the heavens dictated that we had to find the white knights, and protect them from the abyss. We found you, and we will protect you from anything and everything, even if we have to pay with our lives." Nobunaga explained, omitting as many details as possible, making sure to tell the truth, while not saying all the truth.

"WAIT! Do you seriously think we are part of some mystic thing because we picked the white knight pieces?!" Yang voiced her disbelief, not wanting to be part of anything too serious, as exciting as it was; the way Kanetsugu referred to the abyss was much more then unsettling.

"A white knight is a person that places the safety and wellbeing of others before his or her own, someone who walks a path of goodness and benevolence; being modest or humble was not part of the description, picking the correct chess piece was nothing but a convenient coincidence." Ranmaru explained, making the girls blush at being portrayed in such a favorable light.

"But… wouldn't that mean… that you got close to us because…" Blake began to say, showing in her face that her heart was starting to break at the implications of such a thing, fortunately Ruby remembered what Mitsuhide said earlier.

"No. Mitsuhide told us that their love was real… right?" Ruby finished with a shy question, hoping that she had gotten the right idea.

"Of course it is! We wouldn't be having this conversation if it weren't real." Mitsuhide replied, sounding a little bit disappointed, but otherwise ready to declare it as many times as necessary.

"Our mission was only to protect you, which would be admittedly easier if we hadn't got close to you." Nobunaga explained with a rare apologetically voice.

"Our mission is clear and simple, to see you survive the coming of the abyss. But our love for you compels us to seek more for your sake, to see for your happiness, for your future." Kanetsugu finally said, making the girls relax, and even feel a little better.

"I guess it is a little bit romantic, to fall in love with the one you have to protect… it's kind of my favorite cliché." Weiss finally said, and that finally broke the tension.

"I don't understand; why telling us now?" Blake asked after she had overcome her moment of doubt.

"Our original intent was for you to not have to worry about anything, and be there for you in your time of need, ready to live, die and kill for you." Ranmaru explained, looking intently into Yang's eyes, forcing her to blush and smile.

"Then what changed?" Ruby asked, not stopping watching Kanetsugu, who still remained the same.

"Every day, every night, I have been given glimpses of the future, shards of prophecy, but it wasn't until yesterday that I was finally able to place the pieces together." Kanetsugu replied, and that made the tension return tenfold.

"We need you to listen to it, to all of it; we need your help in unravel and understand it, and to decide what steps to take." Nobunaga's ominous voice didn't help, at all.

"From the abyss they will come, probing for weaknesses, searching for strengths, preparing the way for the day the abyss will open its maw to devour the light." Kanetsugu began to recite, while taking out several papers with Edo writings on them; the girls didn't know what this abyss was, but the sole mention of it put them on edge.

"First the eye of the abyss will arrive, being followed by a legless murderer, and a mirage thief; these will try to get closer to the white knights, to fool them, to make them show what they are capable of, so they fall easily to the abyss; a mute liar will follow, and this one will mark the beginning of the end." Kanetsugu's words brought confusion to the whole team of girls, at first they didn't understood the references, but decided to save their questions for the end.

"Once they have all what they need, they will strike down three candles: the living doll will be the first, engulfing the hearts of many with fear and doubt, the adored fighter will follow, breaking the spirit of those around, and then the child of light and magic will perish, empowering the eye of the abyss." Kanetsugu's voice turned darker, and the girls cringed, it had been not too long since the night at the docs, and the idea of watching people die was not something they wanted, much less when it sounded as if good people were going to die.

"But at last, the light will prevail, pushing back the abyss, at the cost of lives and hearts; the red flower will be wounded by feeling death, the white cloud will be taken away out of fear, the dark paw will disappear into the shadows of shame, and the yellow star will be broken by the loss of glory." Kanetsugu's final words, even if they spelled victory, didn't brought any relief to the girls, for it sounded like a defeat in a more deep level, worse still, they could recognize themselves in those words.

"This doesn't make sense… a legless murderer? How can they come with no one noticing or suspecting something?" Yang asked, she knew better than to dismiss a prophecy, and instead she ached for already punch these bad guys and be done with it.

"It doesn't make sense to us, but we know it is real; we don't know how someone without legs could be that dangerous, or how could they come and go without anyone suspecting something." Ranmaru replied, showing that they were also concerned.

"The Vytal festival!" Weiss suddenly shouted, with eyes wide and full of horror.

"What about it?" Mitsuhide asked, eager to discern more of this puzzle.

"Hundreds, if not thousands of students and teachers of all the kingdoms will be visiting, and due to numbers… security is going to be very lax." Weiss explained, making everyone grimace; it was obvious now, with all the people coming and going, it would be impossible to track everyone, slipping past the gates would be as simple as walking along any large group of students, or even tourists.

"What about the candles? If we know them, or recognize them, we could warn them and save their lives." Blake suddenly said, wanting to put her good intentions to work.

"Well, the living doll doesn't ring any bells… the adored fighter… well, we have our many times Mistral champion Pyrrha… but I don't see anyone taking an all out fight against her, and winning." Yang explained, but everyone frowned.

"There is no such a thing as an invincible warrior; even the greatest hero can fall against a humble blade. We have no guarantee that the adored fighter is Pyrrha though, we must be vigilant, and see if there are no other options… what about the child of light and magic?" Nobunaga's words rang true, as there was no way to immediately confirm the identity of the one to be slain; his question was even more unsettling.

"Sorry, but our kingdom does not believe in pure magic; the closest thing to what you mention are the seasonal maidens, but that is only a fairy tale." Ruby answered, sad at not being of more help, and still, there seemed to be something bothering her…

"Kanetsugu, so far you have not mentioned what will become of you, of all of you… why?" Ruby asked now, finally gathering the courage to speak what was bothering her.

"That… is of no importance right now; only your…" Kanetsugu began to answer, but when it become obvious that he was going to dodge the question, Ruby decided to be forceful for the first time.

"KANETSUGU!" Ruby's simple shout was more than enough warning; even her teammates were taken aback by such reaction.

"In my visions, what is shown to me… at least two of us will not be able to live after the assault of the abyss… do not worry, we will not shy away from battle, and even certain death will not prevent us from ensuring your wellbeing." Kanetsugu finally said, but his attempt to calm the girls was futile; they had come to see them as the best of their lives, mature boys that took the relationship seriously, and were willing to spend the rest of their lives with them, something that boys of their age would never do.

"NO!" Ruby suddenly shouted, taking the guys by surprise.

"Ruby?" Kanetsugu asked, worried at what his wording may have done.

"I REFUSE! A happy ending is not only about the girls, but about the boys too!" Ruby's words made little sense to team NKRA, but the rest of the girls smiled at this.

"Yeah! I'm not losing my cutiepie!" Yang said as she happily hugged Ranmaru, forcing his face between her breasts, smiling all the time.

"And we promised to walk together to the very end; so, if you don't want me to die, you'd better survive and be there to watch over me." Blake stated as she removed her bow, and began to nuzzle on Nobunaga's chest.

"Ozpin may have made us promise to wait to get married, but I'm not changing my mind, my choice, or my wording, it'll be you, or no one else." Weiss proclaimed while shyly approaching Mitsuhide, who nodded in response, agreeing to her words.

"We all are having our happy ending; the living doll, the adored fighter… even the magic child!" Ruby shouted as she gained strength, and Kanetsugu could swear that her silver eyes gained a faint glow… he chalked it to her purity and innocent soul.

"The path of the light is a straight one; our enemy will be gauging us, measuring us while we can't measure it, even if we were to train and become more and more powerful, our chances of changing our fate are minimal." Kanetsugu replied with an apologetic voice, but that didn't deter Ruby from her choice, she didn't have a chance to continue though.

"And yet, our beloved white knights have made their choice, and I have no choice but to grant their wish. I'm sorry, Kanetsugu, but I'm afraid I will have to ask you to fight in the dark." Nobunaga suddenly interjected, while playing with Blake's cat ears; his words gained everyone attention, for he sounded like a classical villain in a cliché movie.

"I think I don't understand." Ruby was the first to ask, voicing Kanetsugu's own words; so far, she believed that they would go on the typical super training to be able to overcome the abyss.

"As I'm giving to understand, the abyss is sending its agents to spy on us and the white knights, and will measure our combined strengths to decide how strong the assault will be… so, what if we allow them to spy all what they want, but only show them a mere fraction of what we can do? All the while we keep getting stronger." Nobunaga proposed, and everyone blinked in surprise; that wasn't the way of thinking of a hero who wanted to prevent disaster, that was the thinking of a tyrant about to deliver a fatal blow against some poor rebels.

"You mean, fooling the enemy into a false sense of superiority?" Blake asked, reeling for the fact that it was the first time she had heard of such a plan being carried by the good guys.

"Exactly! But let's take it one step further. I seriously doubt that these agents of the abyss will make the attack alone, they will need numbers, an army of people too angry and resented to even care about the consequences, a bunch of people who would only seek to inflict pain as a way of revenge." Nobunaga's words suddenly rang a very alarming bell.

"The White Fang?!" Weiss suddenly shouted in horror, and immediately covered her mouth with her hands, and looked at Blake with apologetic eyes; the catgirl merely waved dismissively at her, conveying the feeling of mutual acknowledgment, for she thought exactly the same, in fact, she believed that the presence of the human at the docks was proof enough of their involvement with the abyss.

"Indeed, that would prove more than enough numbers to enable their plan, whatever this may be. I'm guessing that denying this army to the abyss will be the path to follow?" Mitsuhide said, making the startling question at the end; Blake immediately understood what that meant, to eliminate the White Fang, for good… it saddened her, but it was the logical scenario, the one that would see her teammates happy, and her beloved Nobu alive.

"And eliminate potential allies? I don't think so. Instead, let's recruit them; make them fight for us, but not without letting the abyss believe that they still are under its command." Nobunaga explained, sounding absolutely evil, as if savoring the face of despair of the enemy commander after seeing plans and effort going to waste.

"A reverse pincer! I love the idea." Ranmaru said, although his voice was slightly muffled due to where he was; Yang only giggled in delight.

"And how are you planning to recruit them? The White Fang are not going to simply accept any offer you make, even if it is fair and in their favor." Blake asked; while she had lost any hope on saving the misguided organization, she still hoped to help the faunus in general.

"He isn't going to negotiate, he is going to force them into obedience and servitude… and probably make them believe it was their desire the whole time." Mitsuhide answered instead of Nobunaga, the chuckle of the visionary only seemed to confirm the claim of the samurai.

"This kingdom has a lot of shadows, a lot of darkness; the light does not mingle with it, as is natural, but that doesn't mean we can't put them on our side, especially if they don't understand that they will be fighting for the light." Nobunaga finished, leaving no room to believe he wasn't evil… and still, his motive was so tied to love, that there was no objection.

"That doesn't answer how you are going to start that particular part of your campaign, Nobu." Blake pressed, much to Nobunaga's pleasure.

"Starting it? My dear Belladonna, my most beautiful lady… I've already set the plan in motion; I only needed you to voice your wish to continue." Nobunaga cryptically said; it took Blake a full minute to remember something that seemed innocent the first time it happened.

"The child? You are using that child?!" Blake almost shouted as she remembered a particular date, when they stumbled upon a little mouse faunus, he looked famine, and in dire need of help, as he kept rambling about his mother needing medicine; Nobunaga had seemed kind and caring at that time, giving the kid what summed to a more than modest amount of lien, it only occurred her that the kid seemed in much better health every time they stumbled upon him, and much less afraid of the visionary…

"That is a rather harsh wording, my dear. It'll be more fitting to say that I gave him a job, and an appropriately paid one; after all, I only needed of him to use his ears, and tell me of unusual things, I even forbid him to step into any kind of danger." Nobunaga explained, although Blake still frowned; while she was inclined to believe him, she will make sure to question the poor kid.

"So, you already bought a pair of ears within the poverty belt… what's next? Buying ears in the underworld?" Yang asked in an extremely sarcastic way, although that didn't drop her grin, especially when Ranmaru grabbed her breasts to pull out his head from where it was.

"Not only ears, but eyes too." Ranmaru said with his dubious smile, making Yang shudder, that smile spoke of trouble, and she already savored it.

"There is a man named Hei Xiong, and it is said he knows more than any other information dealer in the kingdom, we are going to recruit him to our cause." Nobunaga curtly said, thing that brought a reaction from the blonde bombshell.

"Junior?! But that guy is extremely uncooperative! And I don't think he may be too happy to work with me…" Yang added as she remembered a particularly violent party she had in his club.

"He is not working with us, but for us. People like him always have a price, and I'm pretty sure he'll be more cooperative if he finds himself working to protect his two precious treasures." Nobunaga replied, sounding more evil than before.

"Nobunaga, I do not approve of using such intimidation tactics!" Kanetsugu suddenly shouted, outraged at such train of thought.

"Of course I'm not using such a thing! That would open the opportunity of betrayal; instead, I'll let him know that is the abyss what menaces to destroy what he loves, all the while I'll offer him the chance of becoming the protector of his treasures; a chance that no half-man could pass." Nobunaga clarified, and while that calmed the battle monk, he still seemed to not fully approve of it, only Ruby squeezing his hand held him where he was, as he was ready to smear his name if that means seeing Ruby well and happy.

"That covers that, but how do we deal with the infiltrators?" Weiss asked now, returning the focus to something they would have to deal with.

"They haven't arrived yet, at least not here, in Beacon." Kanetsugu replied; everyone nodded at that, for the exchange students still had to arrive during the starting week.

"We do not know who they are, for they could be either students or teachers; but we know what they want. Hiding the knowledge they want would make them wary of our actions, instead, I say we give them what they want, but not what they need." Nobunaga began, and everyone braced for his evil plan.

"What does that mean?" Blake asked, knowing that it was unnecessary, but useful for the dramatic build up.

"They will want to see how strong we are, so, I say we show them a fraction of what we can do, while acting as if that is all we can do, lowering the bar, so they would prepare for a weak punch, to which we'll let the hammer drop full force. They want to find weaknesses; I say we make up weaknesses that they will want to exploit, just to find that in the end they are far from what makes us weak. We let them feel victory, and then we show them utter defeat." Nobunaga explained, sending the girls into shock.

"So, to recapitulate; we let them believe that their plan is going smooth, while we control everything they do, see and hear, then we allow them to strike, just for them to fall in a death trap of their own making?" Blake asked, bewildered by such craftiness; some time ago she pictured Nobu and Adam fighting each other, and fearing for her boyfriend's life, now… she almost pitied Adam if he ever tries to fight such a foe… that had her licking her lips…

"I don't get it, how come you never conquered the tribes of your land if you are so… well… smart?" Weiss suddenly asked, scared out of her mind, and grateful for having the visionary on her side, and not against her.

"He almost did it, but was betrayed by a close friend during the last push." Ranmaru said while glaring at Mitsuhide, who had the decency of looking away.

"Wait what?!" Blake shouted in disbelief and outrage, wondering what kind of bastard would betray someone whose intent was to unify the dying nomad tribes.

"That will be a story for another time; we have more pressing matters. Kanetsugu, I know that the original plan was to spread the Voice of the heavens as far and as quick as possible, but with the current menace of the abyss, I will have to ask you to not accept anyone else in the flock, at least not without making sure that none of them are in league with the abyss." Nobunaga suddenly demanded.

"I… I understand… I'll also speak with the members, we cannot hide our light, but maybe we can prevent the abyss from learning about it." Kanetsugu reluctantly agreed; Ruby gave him a tight hug, both as support, and as thanks, for she knew that acting in such a dubious way was against everything he believed, and admittedly, against her beliefs too.

"Good. Ranmaru, Yang, I'll need you two to control the rumor mill; focus on learning discrepancies about the incoming students and teachers, odd numbers and suspicious behavior; at the same time, make sure to spread misleading rumors about us, for we need to set traps and see who is willing to make use of these rumors, and why." Nobunaga directly ordered, not caring if Yang could be considered part of the Oda army, or not.

"Of course, my lord." Ranmaru replied as usual.

"You can count on me!" Yang added, seemingly happy to obey, which seemed strange coming from such a wild spirit.

"Thank you. Weiss, can I ask you to keep checking on your father's company? You are our only reliable contact with another kingdom, and any lead on the moves of our enemy could be vital to our endeavor." At Nobunaga's request, Weiss gave a tired sigh, she didn't like it, but after seeing each and every single reading of the battle monk become real, she wasn't going to dismiss it, and leave her boyfriend's survival to chance.

"I'll try, but I warn you, my father is not happy with what happened at the docks; apparently he thought that the lives of the guards meant nothing compared with his operation." Weiss explained, feeling even less pleased with her name.

"That will be enough, and sorry for putting you through this. In the mean time, we must avoid unleashing our spirit techniques; also, we are to stay together the whole time, if we can't stay like couples, we must never stay alone, no matter what." Nobunaga finished, and everyone nodded; they could certainly enjoy being forcefully stuck in a perpetual date… if only the lingering menace of death wasn't in the air.

Headmaster's office…

Ozpin was having a truly bad morning, migraine included; team NKRA had a secret meeting with team RWBY, and had gone so far as to manually disconnect the cameras in their dorm room; at least they had the decency of showing him a sign with the reason inscribed on it:

 **We are sorry, but this is a private meeting; we'll reconnect the cameras when we are done.**

That had been also startling, for that meant they were fully aware of him spying on them; that they allowed it was not reassuring. He could have reconnected it remotely, but decided against it, especially because he needed to be in good terms with them for what was going to happen; it worried him though, they hadn't come out of the room and it was way past breakfast time. He didn't held hopes of this being something hormonal, there was something else at play here, and it gave him the creeps.

"Finally!" Ozpin almost shouted as the video feed reappeared, showing a team RWBY with faces of shock, directly looking at the camera, while Ranmaru was holding a new sign:

 **Sorry for making you wait, the meeting is over.**

"Kanetsugu Naoe and Ruby Rose, please come directly to my office as soon as possible; I assure you that this calling has nothing to do with your meeting, but it is of utmost urgency." Ozpin called thorough the intercom, making sure to only activate the sound in team NKRA's room, he was pleased to see both Ruby and Kanetsugu nod toward the camera, and then exit the room; he was going to find out what happened, but not before ensuring the battle monk's cooperation.

Ozpin took the time it required for the cheerful pair to reach his office to practice his grandfatherly gestures, as he would need them to full capacity to achieve what will come next; the arrival of team PSTL was scheduled for today, in fact, he will have just a couple of minutes to work with the monk before revealing that their quirky friend will be attending classes with them. He wasn't worried about Penny, for he could see that her soul was innocent, and she clearly had no ill intent, but the others were troublesome; a control freak, no doubt meant to get all the delicate information, a zealot, who would no doubt try to instill the idea that Atlas was a much better kingdom, and an idiot… he had no idea what role he would play, but better safe than sorry.

"We are here!" Ruby called as she and the monk came out of the elevator; Ozpin idly noticed Kanetsugu eyeing the mechanical contraption with a frown, almost chuckling at how he seemed to not get along with technology.

"Thank you for coming. Before we start, allow me to clarify two things; first, the camera in team NKRA's room is meant as a safety feature, and as a way to keep track of cultural differences, their privacy has always been respected, and we'll continue to respect it; second, as curious as I am about what transpired in that room this morning, that has nothing to do with you being required here." Ozpin's assurance seemed strange, but the cheerful pair took it well.

"Then, why do you need us?" Kanetsugu asked, a little puzzled by this call.

"To answer that, does the name of Penny Polendina sound familiar to you?" Ozpin asked with a neutral expression, and was rewarded with surprised faces from the duo.

"Penny? Is she ok?" Ruby asked with no thought, obviously worried for her friend.

"Well, you'll be able to ask her in a couple of minutes; you'll see, her team is scheduled to arrive today, and I was surprised to hear her mention your names, so I thought it would be nice if she and her team get a tour lead by you." Ozpin said with a disarming smile, making the couple smile in return, they were happy to hear about their friend, and most likely would like to spend time with her.

"That being said, I'll need to ask you to limit your interaction with her and her team." Ozpin suddenly dropped the bomb, earning the undivided attention of the cheerful pair.

"What? Why?" Ruby immediately asked, outraged by such order, Kanetsugu didn't look different.

"Allow me to clarify: I'm not asking to not act like her friends, or interact with her, or hanging out; that would be against the very spirit of the Vytal Festival. What I'm asking is for you two to not lightly accept her or her team into the cult of the Voice of the heavens; this is simply because this religion has yet to be fully adopted by our kingdom, and if it spreads to other kingdoms without the proper back up, there could be complains and added obstacles to the process, making the wait unnecessarily longer, which by the way means that any other exchange student should not be allowed into your flock, at least not officially." Ozpin explained, and braced himself for Kanetsugu's rebuttal, getting ready to make a calm argument to win the monk over.

"Headmaster… I believe I was clear when…" Kanetsugu began to build up his rant, but was suddenly stopped when Ruby pulled his arm, and forced him to look into her eyes.

"Kanetsugu! It makes sense… it will be for the best." Ruby quietly said, puzzling the headmaster, and calming the battle monk.

"Yes… you are right… I understand, headmaster; I do not like it, but I see wisdom in your words; we'll do as you ask." Kanetsugu finally relented, although he didn't seem convinced at all; Ozpin was honestly startled, he had the suspicion that this level of cooperation was tied to whatever happened during that meeting, which instantly translated in Nobunaga being deeply involved; he decided to not follow that train of thought, there was a situation to deal with right now, and he better not push his luck.

"Well, now that we have come to an understanding, we only need to wait for…" Ozpin began to say, but got interrupted by a sudden beep on his desk.

" _Headmaster, the students from Atlas have arrived, should I send them to your office?"_ Glynda's voice sounded through the intercom, accompanied by a distant giggle.

"Yes please, I already have someone to give them a tour." Ozpin replied to the intercom, and then patiently waited for the fake team to arrive. The wait didn't take long, and the very first to come out of the elevator, was no other than Penny.

"Salutations! Thank you for… FRIENDS RUBY AND KANETSUGU!" Penny suddenly stopped her greeting, and directly went to her friend to engulf them in an incredible strong hug, almost as strong that what Yang would do, but far more friendly.

"Penny!" The cheerful pair shouted back, happy to see their friend again.

"You know these two? Suspicious…" Ciel asked, muttering the last part in a low tone.

"Woah! Nice hat!" Kage said, pointing to Kanetsugu's head; Leo just stared intently at them, as if judging their possible threat level, then turned to the headmaster and gave a curt nod.

"Oh! I forgot proper etiquette! Allow me to start again…" And so, Penny addressed the headmaster, and began to introduce her team, describing in perfect detail everything that the fake backgrounds stated, hiccupping every now and then.

Ozpin finally relaxed, knowing that he had averted at least some of the problems in the near future, while keeping the upper hand in the cultural standing, now he needed a way to know what had transpired in that room, and be ready to stop the visionary if he was trying to do something against the greater good.

Kanetsugu for his part, kept stealing glances at the cursed contraption called elevator; he hated it, especially the whispers and cries he kept hearing every time he used it; Ruby seemed to not notice them, nor the others, and that only made him even more wary of using it; he decided to put a smile on his face, after all, he would welcome a new soul to his flock, as he knew that Penny was more than worthy to be accepted.

* * *

 **Magnus:** I may still add the food fight scene, as this chapter happens one week bofre that event, what do you think?


	17. One last day

**Magnus:** I'm sorry for these months without updates, but I was dealing with a wound in the heart and some job hunting, I'll be updating regularly now, so please, keep reading.

 **Disclaimer:** I thought on a great line to write here, but I forgot it...

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

 **One last day**

Under a large tree in the gardens of Beacon academy, teams RWBY and NKRA were taking their last lunch, of their last day of peace; they tried to enjoy it, to enjoy their time together, to not worry about the events to come, of the coming of the abyss, but the air between them was mired with worry and anticipation…

"So… this is it?" Ruby finally asked, tired of trying to ignore the problem, all while not letting go of Kanetsugu's hand.

"It is. Tomorrow we'll put the plan in action, so we can orchestrate the fall of the abyss." Nobunaga said, dramatic as always.

"Which bears the question: Are you sure that the information dealer will cooperate?" Mitsuhide asked, showing concern at the approach given to potential allies.

"Of course he will." Ranmaru replied with a rather unsettling smile, remembering how that particular mission went.

 _=Flashback=_

 _Junior was not happy. Almost six months ago a blond bombshell had wrecked his beloved club, manhandled his precious treasures, and wounded his pride… tonight she had returned, barely an hour before he opened to the public…_

" _Blondie, you came back… why?" Junior asked in distress, he had barely averted his men from shooting the girl, which he knew would only anger her._

" _I only want a drink, Junior; no need to make a fuss over it. My cutiepie though, want to make business." Yang said, the first part with her usual playful tone, the second, with eerie seriousness. Junior turned to see the one that Yang had named, only to find a beautiful young lady, although without big assets, Junior doubted she could play him for a fool._

" _Mr. Hei Xiong, we need to talk." Ranmaru said with seriousness that seemed to freeze the air; that Junior had heard his true name only hinted to this being something dreadful._

" _Not many dare to say my name aloud, this better be important." Junior tried to sound menacing while guiding them to the bar, but Ranmaru's eyes were evil, more than anything he had seen before, it was like looking at a serial killer._

" _It has come to my lord's attention that you aided at some point someone named Roman Torchwick, someone who tried to bring harm to people important to my lord; such a thing is usually dealt with swiftly, but he is willing to forgive you, as he is certain you had no idea of the intentions of this miscreant." Ranmaru stated in a voice that gave away that Junior's life was still on the line, not that the bearded man was going to show any fear._

" _How magnanimous of your 'lord'. I take it he wants information on Torchwick's whereabouts as a sign of gratitude?" Junior's answer almost sounded as sarcasm, but he was curious as what kind of man could have such a young lady as a personal killer._

" _That would be useful, but somehow I don't think you have that information. No, my lord is not going to force you into anything, in fact, he is certain that you, and both of your business, mean no harm to him and the people he cares about; instead, he is the one who wishes to show his good will by sharing what we found on the bodies of some of Torchwick's new friends." Ranmaru explained while handing a folder to Junior, the folder contained detailed information and pictures of four girls…_

" _The Schnee heiress, the Adel girl, and…" Junior's throat dried out, unable to name the other two girls, girls that he knew all too well, and that meant the world for him._

" _Ah! I see you recognized them, your reputation is well earned, Mr. Xiong." Ranmaru said in a eerie voice, one that hinted to horrors that will haunt his dreams._

" _What is the meaning of this?!" Junior suddenly shouted, his mind was conjuring horrible possibilities, and he wanted clarification._

" _Weiss Schnee is my teammate at Beacon academy, we foiled an assassination attempt on her; that data was in one of the White Fang assassins, guided by no other than the Torchwick guy; we couldn't interrogate him though, so we can only guess they are after the other girls too." Yang was the one to explain, all while taking a sip of her strawberry sunrise, her eyes were quite clear though, Junior didn't need to ask to know that the assassin was dead._

" _We will try to protect the Adel girl on our own, but my lord would like to extend his aid to you, so if you happen to hear or see anything related to movements from either the White Fang or Roman Torchwick, or crimes that fall outside of the norm you deal with, please contact us, and we will see to it that Torchwick, and his associates, are properly dealt with." Ranmaru offered, although he could be asking for money and Junior would have accepted anyway, if the intensity of his stare was any indication, he just couldn't believe he had helped a guy that wanted his girls dead, his beloved Malachite sisters…_

" _How do I contact you?" Junior asked, not as the owner of a seedy club, but as a mob boss._

" _A little mouse will come every morning after you close your business, he will ask for bottles, and you can place the intel you get inside them; ANY intel is invaluable, and we want it handwritten, no scroll communication must be engaged." Ranmaru explained, in a dead serious tone; Junior didn't complain though, as he understood that they had to hide the exchange of information, especially because the lives of his daughters were at risk._

 _Ranmaru and Yang left shortly after, sporting deviant smiles, because they knew that Junior would move mountains if that meant protecting what he loved._

 _=End of flashback=_

"That sounds evil!" Weiss couldn't help but to shout, although she didn't sound disapproving; Yang and Ranmaru answered by giving thumbs up, and wicked grins.

"Speaking of which, how is the little mouse?" Ruby asked now, remembering the faunus child, and how desperate he was to win the money that Nobunaga had promised.

"I'll have you know that he is in perfect health, his mother is being treated, and has orders to not endanger himself, or his friends and family; I told you all before that I wanted ears and eyes, not true spies." Nobunaga replied, going so far as to explain as much as he could.

"Friends and families?" Blake asked with a frown on her face, apparently she managed to read something else.

"Well… the little mouse couldn't shut up about how generous I was by paying him for small errands and vouching for him at the recycling factory; I'm afraid that others from the poverty belt are joining him in recollecting every tin can, cardboard box and glass bottle of the kingdom. On a bright note, now he has the perfect cover to keep collecting junk around the places he has to move our intel packages." Nobunaga explained with a nervous smile, he knew that Blake didn't like the idea of having those kids involved, but they needed someone to move their 'packages'.

"I truly hope you are right about them being invisible, Nobu. How about you Kanetsugu, is the flock cooperative?" Blake asked as she pinched Nobunaga's cheek, the battle monk let out a heavy and troubled sigh.

"I'm afraid they are extremely cooperative." Kanetsugu reported with a heavy heart, confusing the others.

"How so?" Mitsuhide asked, not understanding the wording.

"They will not share the teachings with outsiders, unless I tell them to do so; they, however, aren't doing this as a precaution against the abyss, but out of greed; they don't want people from other kingdoms to have what they've gained, they want to be unique, making this exclusive of Vale… this is not what I intended for the Voice of the Heavens." Kanetsugu explained, sounding disappointed.

"Was it that bad?" Weiss asked, surprised at hearing this, and berating herself for not joining the cult beforehand.

"They didn't want to welcome Penny!" Ruby shouted with no little anger in her voice, and that surprised the others.

"Ah! So it was even worse!" Yang stated the obvious, she may barely know the atlesian girl, but she could tell that she was a prime example of friendliness.

"Fortunately, Penny already has good friends that will care for her; we should focus on our own tasks. By the way, what is the status of the rumor mill, Yang?" Blake asked now, believing that Penny had no quarry on their shadow war.

"So far so good! It was agreed that the outsiders must fall to some harmless pranks and jokes, four of them involves us: The first is that no outsider must be informed that my cutiepie is a manly man, I guess someone is still sore for crushing after him; second is that Mitsuhide is going to be branded as the Schnee heiress' toy boy, so people will think that he is after the money… we may need him to feign not tolerating you, Weiss." Yang momentarily stopped, while looking apologetically at the white couple.

"If I must…" Mitsuhide said through clenching teeth, knowing that it was sound strategy, to leave an opening for the enemy to leave a bait of their own.

"This is going to be a long term…" Weiss muttered, knowing that such tactic means no more tea parties, and of course, no more romantic dates.

"Ok… third: Kanetsugu will be seen as sexually frustrated by Ruby's childish attitude." Ranmaru joined now, and of course reactions were immediate.

"WHAT?!" Both Ruby and Kanetsugu shouted in true horror, and looked ready to murder someone.

"Geez! Chill guys! We choose this because we know you can't be seduced by other people, so the obvious way was to let the enemy believe they can seduce you to be separated; I know it is hard, but you'll have to play the part to expose them, ok?" Yang explained, trying her best to protect her man; Ranmaru may be a ruthless assassin with an insane love of blood, but she wasn't going to test him against Kanetsugu.

"If we must…" Kanetsugu was the one to answer to clenching teeth now, much to the amusement of the others.

"And finally, my lord, you are to pose as an overprotective and domineering boyfriend." Ranmaru finally said, earning a scoff from Mitsuhide, and a face palm from Nobunaga.

"Ranmaru, I am an overprotective and dominant boyfriend." Nobunaga replied, making Blake blush at her memories on how dominating he was…

"Umm… well… yes, but Blake is not supposed to like it, in the rumor, that is." Ranmaru added, a little bit apologetic too, this time Blake was the one to face palm.

"That is going to be hard to pull off…" Blake muttered, remembering now that she actually hated when her old partner was like that.

"As an added precaution, we'll have to spend the time we have just like the rest of the students, no more bountiful tree to shield us from preying eyes." Nobunaga added, earning a heavy sigh from everyone.

"Do you think Penny will be alright, I mean, she is our friend, and I wouldn't want her to become a target because of that." Ruby suddenly said, changing the topic.

"She already has a team protecting her; we can keep an eye on her, but is no priority." Mitsuhide said, followed by Wiess nodding at his explanation.

"I don't know if they are dependable for that, I mean, they didn't look that friendly." Yang said what was on Ruby's mind, after all, Penny looked ready to run away with her and Kanetsugu, and be as far away as possible from her team.

"We'll have to believe they can become better, because we shouldn't risk the lives of more people than strictly necessary." Kanetsugu said, earning a sad nod from Ruby; Nobunaga thought different though, ready to make as many sacrifices as needed to ensure victory, and the safety of those he loved.

Meanwhile, at the cafeteria…

Ciel had said once that in order to reach her dream, she would do anything, all to finally live her idealized life of a black ops operative; babysitting a VIP certainly didn't sound as the worst she could be doing to do so, or at least, that's what she believed at first…

"Oh! This school is the best! So full of potential friends and exciting things to do and learn!" Penny exclaimed her heart out, apparently enjoying every second of her time in the school, much to the annoyance of the logistics expert of the group.

"Is still there anything else for you to learn here? I mean, you've already read EVERY book in the school." Ciel interrupted, annoyed beyond reason. At first, it had been a novel experience; taking extensive notes about everything, from Penny's reluctant acceptance into the cult of loving weirdoes, to her extremely confusing relationship with the priest of said cult… seriously, the way she hugged him was tremendously suggestive, but the girlfriend of said guy only joined in the hugs… which means no sense due to the possessive nature of said girl.

"The books were nice, with some interesting differences compared to the atlesian tomes, but in the end, the experiences of the teachers will be the final bridge between theory craft and actual application!" Penny continued her convoluted explanation, leaving no doubt that she had, somehow, memorized everything she had read.

"She is not wrong." Leo added, while eating his meal with practiced movements and flawless precision, making sure that not a single bit of meat would fall to the table, or on his clothes.

"Leo, please stop agreeing with everything that comes out of her mouth!" Ciel cried in despair; she just couldn't believe that Leo had become such a sucker for their commander officer, worse still, when she reported this behavior to the general, he had approved, mentioning that it meant that Penny had great skill when dealing with people.

"Chill down, control freak; Penny is happy here with her brain being well feed with books, Leo is happy here with his 100% meat diet and constant spars, even I'm happy with the lack of mistreatment toward the ladies. Why can't you join and relax? Would it truly be that bad if you take it slowly for a day?!" Kage suddenly joined, and then caught a grape with his mouth, courtesy of a very amused Nora, who for no apparent reason was throwing them at him.

"We need to prepare for the tournament." Ciel said through clenching teeth, and while anyone else could have told her that such event was still too far away, her teammates understood what she meant…

"Then chill out a bit, as Kage says, or you will be blown out before the event comes… although I admit that Leo could do with a little bit less of meat." Penny said, making Ciel's jaw drop for her encoded message.

Penny was right on her thinking, as the parameters of the mission had been followed to the letter; Penny had managed to make friends and be accepted into a cult that was closed to outsiders of the kingdom, Leo had managed to fit with the students, who had nicknamed him as the 'well mannered savage', for his serious demeanor, and brutal fighting style… although she guessed that this Winchester boy who was so savagely beaten was not exactly liked by most; Kage… well, the fact that he had not started any trouble was already something incredible…

"I don't do vegetables… and I seriously need my protein to properly function." Leo vehemently said, still eating his enormous plate full of meat, making Kage rise a brow at his antics with the food… he still kept catching the fruit.

"At least add a couple of fruits, you know what they say, one apple a day…" Kage tried to join, but got silenced when an apple hit him square in the face; it seemed that Nora wanted him to not say any witty remarks.

"Maybe you should try some mushrooms; they are full of protein and most likely won't cause your stomach to be upset." Penny supplied, catching the large blond by surprise; at the same time, Kage returned the apple to Nora, with a loud crash signaling that he had missed, or that Nora had evaded the impromptu projectile.

"You really think so?" Leo asked, with eyes that seemed surprised, and suspicious; Penny simply nodded with her incredible bright smile.

"Fine… you win, let's chill out… for today." Ciel finally said with a groan, she really didn't want to, but at the end, she rationalized that some black ops missions would require her to act like a normal or civilian person, and not like an assassin crawling in the shadows.

"Oh! That's wonderful! We could explore the gardens to check for differences in the flora between Vale and Atlas, or we could play tag, or…" Penny then went on a small tirade about what they could do together, as a team, thing that ended infuriating the militant girl even more; no one noticed Kage glaring in Nora's direction.

"You know what? Why don't we let Leo chose this time? I think he can come with better ideas, or at least something more suitable for us." Ciel interrupted with no little annoyance, trying to use the large blonde as an escape to whatever childish game Penny could drag them to; of course no one noticed Kage trying to diffuse whatever Nora was doing, by using only hand signs… especially with Leo standing up abruptly.

"Well, I believe that Penny is…" Leo couldn't continue, as his face was instantly covered by a cake, courtesy of a mischievous hammer user… her teammates could only stare in mock horror and the turn of events, and Leo's growl.

Outside the cafeteria…

Sun Wukong, monkey faunus, and now declared nemesis of Nobunaga Oda, had been talking non-stop with his blue haired friend, starting by his meeting with certain cat faunus girl, to the grim evening at the docks; blaming the visionary of every dark choice made by the faunus girl…

"Man, you know that I'm usually on your side, but, don't you think that if she already made her choice, you should respect her?" The blue haired guy said after hearing out the monkey faunus.

"Usually I would agree, but believe me, Neptune, that guy is manipulating her, and I know you'll agree with me once you meet them. Now, its lunch time, so they should be here… you think you can be cool?" Sun asked, and Neptune replied by making a cool pose, showing off his immaculate clothes, numerous belts, shiny smile and stylish goggles.

"Good point." Sun finally conceded, and then opened the doors to the cafeteria, only to find people running away, and the tables being piled up in a mock fort, with team JNPR in top of it.

"WHAHAHAHAHAHA. I'M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE! I'M QUEEN OF THE CASTLE!" Nora chanted atop the tables, seemingly enjoying this to the fullest, her teammates too seemed to take this seriously, as in serious fun.

"Your aggression will not be tolerated! That was an act of war, and war is what you'll get! TO ARMS!" Penny shouted, betrayed by her smile and tone of voice, she was enjoying this just as much as Nora.

"WAAARRR!" Her team shouted at the same time, ready to go all out, and enjoy the moment.

The battle started with team JNPR launching an excessive amount of watermelons, either trying to mow down the opposition, or trying to gauge their combat abilities; Kage was fast to react, taking a baguette in each hand, and twirling them as he would do with his Volcano Pike.

"It won't be that easy!" Kage shouted with a large smile on his face, destroying each and every watermelon that seemed to be going in their direction, ignoring the ones misaimed.

"CHARGE!" Leo shouted while running toward Pyrrha, baguette in hand; Pyrrha quickly took a baguette of her own, and began to duel with the large guy, not giving any ground, but not gaining enough momentum to push him back; they struggled for a few seconds, and then, when Pyrrha tried to push him back, Leo gave a step back, throwing her out of balance for a second, more than enough for him to make a full spin, ready to use his impromptu weapon full force, failing only because another blond intervened at that instant.

"No! You won't!" Jaune shouted as he used a tray as a shield, placing himself in front of Pyrrha, unfortunately his strategy worked against him when the larger boy sent him flying back with the impact of the piece of bread.

"You'll pay for that!" Pyrrha cried as she avenged her boyfriend, by hitting Leo with a thrust attack that sent him back to Penny's position; then she continued to throw baguettes like they were spears, trying to keep the offensive up.

"You'll need to try harder! GHA!" Kage grunted as he failed to deflect one of the baguettes, sending him to the ground. Pyrrha's victory was short lived though, as she was hit full force by a turkey, of all things, courtesy of a seriously amused Penny.

"Let's get them!" Nora said a she finally charged into melee, being closely followed by Ren.

"I can't believe I'm doing this!" Ciel shouted as she grabbed a ketchup bottle, then she threw it to the floor, and stomped on it, sending the red substance toward the running duo; Nora managed to react, and jumped toward a banner supporter, Ren, however, was not as lucky, and got a face full of ketchup, and since he was momentarily blinded, a turkey to the face too.

Meanwhile, Nora managed to break the supporter, and then stabbed it into a large watermelon that somehow was still intact, creating an impromptu war hammer; Ciel was quick to react, and rolled out of the way, unfortunately leaving Penny to take the blow, which sent her skidding for good part of the floor.

"Err… sorry?" Ciel muttered at seeing the result of her reaction, and then decided to use a loaf of bread like a combat knife, berating herself for neglecting melee training; her fight didn't last more than two seconds, and then she found that Nora is truly a hard hitter, as she found herself crashing with a column… she wisely decided to not stand up again…

"Now it's personal. Let's avenge her!" Penny shouted once more, and the first to answer the call was no other than Leo, who quickly grabbed another baguette, and charged full speed against Nora, only to be intercepted by Ren, who had grabbed a pair of leeks.

"GGRRRRR!" Leo growled as he locked weapons with Ren, but when Ren tried to start a combo, he found himself quickly disarmed by a brutal hit from the larger blond; another quick strike to the side of the head was enough for him to decide to take a short rest in the floor.

"REN!" Nora shouted as she tried to hammer the large guy down, Leo for his part managed to step back, and then tried to go for the kill, just to regret it a second later, when Nora launched him up full force, breaking the roof in the process, as well as her makeshift hammer.

"My turn!" Kage shouted while reaching Nora, who couldn't evade the insanely fast strikes from the flamboyant red head, and soon found herself being thrown at the soda can machine; that gave her the opportunity to retaliate, using the soda cans as grenades; Kage's grin only grew, as he began to kick the cans back full force, putting Nora down with the resulting refreshingly explosions.

"Not bad, but not good enough!" Pyrrha said as she used her semblance to take control of a hundred soda cans, just to hurl them all together against the red head; Kage's grin turned savage as he anticipated this, and he reacted by slamming both ends of the baguettes together, and set them on fire for even more speed… the baguettes in turn turned instantly into ash though.

"What the FUUUUUUUU…" Kage shouted as he was victim of Pyrrha's onslaught. Penny saw that she was the last one standing, and finally decided that if Pyrrha could be allowed to go all out, then she would do no less; she extended her hands and fingers, and in an instant, every piece of food seemed to answer to her will.

"What in the world?!" Jaune said in surprise as he stood up and watched the insane amount of food floating around them, Ren for his part understood that this was a bad moment to rejoin the fight.

"For my teammates!" Penny said with a large smile and a lot of cheer, and then she slammed everything on the members of team JNPR… repeatedly, until they decided to lay down in defeat, completely covered food.

"See? This is an example of good fun!" Sun said after the food fight was over, unfortunately for him, Neptune seemed to disagree, if his intense glare was any indication… perhaps if he wasn't covered in food stains he would have thought different… maybe?

At that moment the main doors were opened violently, letting in a very irate Glynda Goodwitch; a plate and some food was flying her way, but got immediately stopped by the teacher's semblance, and sent back to where it was supposed to be; then, with a few moves from her riding crop, she began to move everything to the place it was supposed to be, repairing every little bit of damage, and cleaning the walls and the floor.

"Children, please; do not play with your food." Glynda said in seriously stern voice, making Sun and Neptune cringe in their place, and the rest of the teams to raise their hands in a placate gesture, already surrendering to appropriate punishment… then Nora gave very loud burp, breaking the seriousness of their apologetic stance, thing that was further destroyed by Leo finally falling crashing through the roof, and crushing the table he fell on, Penny's concern was short lived when he stood up and gave a thumb up, showing that it would take more than that to truly hurt him; no one failed to notice that Glynda was now growling in their general direction.

"Let it go." Ozpin said as he appeared from behind of the infuriated combat instructor, who couldn't help but to sigh at his suggestion.

"They are supposed to be the defenders of mankind." Glynda stated, trying to convey that these kids should be striving to mature and be true examples of being a hunter.

"And they will be, in time; but for now they are just children, why not let them play the part? After all, it is a role they won't have forever." Ozpin finally said, softening the teacher a little bit… she would still punish them later though…

The day continued at a sedated pace, with only four girls dreading the end of it; teams JNPR and PSTL were punished by being forced help in the kitchens for one week, or being forbidden to enter the tournament… their answer was obvious.

Ruby and Kanetsugu had to face their own troubles at the shrine of love, where they tried to give special orders to Velvet and Yatsuhashi; both could understand perfectly the order to not allow any outsider of the kingdom to enter the shrine and touch the sacred tools, they failed to understand that Penny was allowed to do so though…

Yang and Ranmaru gathered the gossipers, and tried to come up with potential pranks and practical jokes, telling them that they were aimed to simply discover the strengths and weaknesses of the outsiders, so Beacon could come on top during the tournament, everyone agreed, and soon the potential pranks began to turn even more outrageous…

Weiss and Mitsuhide tried to enjoy one last tea party, while plotting on how to get some quality time while waging this horrendous war, unfortunately they weren't very creative about it…

Blake and Nobunaga were facing a very different problem…

"I-I'm sorry! If I had been a little more valiant… I could have seen them!" The mouse faunus was sobbing while trying to report, thing that worried the dark pair to no end.

"Calm down, little one, start from the beginning, and tell us what happened." Blake softly said as she hugged the child, who only nodded, seemingly afraid of having to explain everything.

"I went to the bookshop to collect junk, but since the windows were darkened I just went to alley to check the containers… that's when I heard gunfire…" The child said while trembling, tears flowing at an alarming rate.

"Gunfire? At the bookshop?" Nobunaga asked, a little bit alarmed at the possible implications.

"Yes, I did what you told me, I hide, make myself smaller and become quiet; that when I smelled mint with strawberries, and heard heavy boots… I sorry, I should have taken a peek, but I'm a coward, and the book keeper is dead because of that!" The child reported, and then began to cry; Blake could only tighten the hug, while looking at Nobunaga, not with anger, but with worry; they knew that Tucson was an ex-member of the White Fang, which means that his death was directly tied to the moves of the abyss.

"Now we know that they are already here, and we should act accordingly." Nobunaga said, although softly, as to not scare the poor mouse anymore; quickly he scribbled some orders for Junior, and sent the child on his way, with some extra lien in the pocket, and a promise that his actions would help immensely in bringing the murderer to justice… he obviously didn't say how gruesome that justice will be.

* * *

 **Magnus:** I think I got the deaths of the bad guys decided, only Neo's will be painless, as she did very little in comparison to the others.


	18. The Arrival

**Magnus:** Welcome to another chapter, once again setting the story for more deviations from the original series, but you can bet that it will be in the best interest of our heroes; now enjoy, and remember, read and review!

 **Disclaimer:** I almost failed to resist the urge to add a pun joke here... but I may start using some RWBY chibi jokes.

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

 **The Arrival**

Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon academy, watched through the window of his office; students from other kingdoms walked the main path toward the entrance of his school, the members of the cult of the Voice of the Heavens welcoming them all to the institution, but clearly not inviting them into their ranks, and of course, several youngsters could be seen hiding in the bushes, ready to prank the newcomers; Ozpin saw all of this with wary eyes, it was too normal to be possible, it was a blatant ruse for some unknown purpose obviously devised by his most hated student, the one and only Nobunaga Oda…

"Something isn't right… this sight is too normal and cooperative for it to be right…" Ozpin muttered, unable to hide the thoughts on his head.

"Ozpin… didn't you get the memo?" Glynda suddenly asked, her eyebrow was raised, and her voice almost amused.

"What memo?" Ozpin asked back, slightly startled by the voice of his deputy; Glynda didn't reply though, instead she checked the headmaster's desk, and quickly found a piece of paper, which she handed to the wide eyed Ozpin.

"Ah! That certainly explains a lot. Why did he use paper and not a scroll call?" Ozpin asked as he took in the contents of the letter, which explained in morbid detail how the vast majority of the students had agreed to run small pranks and jokes on the outsiders to get them to reveal strengths and weaknesses in order to have a better footing in the upcoming tournament.

"I believe he feared that someone could hack into the communication network. I don't know what could have him fearing that, but I certainly appreciate the opportunity to read such a beautiful calligraphy." Glynda replied, and Ozpin didn't need to ask if she approved of this devious plan too; Ozpin simply nodded and returned to watch the scene below him, unable to shake the feeling that this amazingly cooperative scheme was the beginning of something way bigger.

" _Of course we will tell you, headmaster, but only after we had made sure to know what we are really dealing with, and how to deal with it; otherwise we may endanger everything we want to protect. Rest assured though, our White Knights have demanded that everyone has to have a happy ending."_

Nobunaga's words kept echoing in the mind of the aged headmaster; words obviously meant to be reassuring, and yet so terribly ominous at the same time; even when cornered the visionary seemed to have the upper hand.

"Well, at least he had the decency of telling us of his plans; am I to assume that the other teachers are aware and will turn a blind eye to these pranks?" Ozpin asked now, taking a sip of his coffee mug, and trying to suppress a shudder at the thought of how this could be the start of a nightmare.

"To the jokes, yes; but the pranks will require some sort of approval before being allowed to play out. Some of the already approved are the classical 'water over the door frame', 'zapper hand shakers' and the 'super spicy' sauces at the cafeteria; nothing outside the boundaries of youngsters nowadays; I have to agree though, with some people paying close attention, this could reveal hints to semblances, strengths and weaknesses." Glynda reported, while her face sported features that denoted surprise and a little bit of amusement; in the past she would have never allow something like this, but after hearing Nobunaga's reasoning, and seeing the level of organization and unity displayed, she couldn't help but to see this as a positive activity.

"At least our students are united in a common goal, which is the very spirit of the Vytal festival. I can only imagine how many surprises we'll get from our students during the tournament." Ozpin said, while sounding a little far away; his thoughts were focused on the true task that he had at hand, for the replacement of the seasonal maiden was drawing close; Ozpin knew that the result of the tournament was inconsequential; the true reward would come from the ascension of the next protector of mankind, and her unbreakable ties to him and his kingdom.

"It seems that James finally decided to show up." Glynda said, sounding as if her mood had soured; Ozpin quickly understood why though, as the General not only decided to arrive in a warship, but with at least one quarter of his army…

Meanwhile at the courtyard…

A very young woman, a girl and a boy were walking toward the main gate of Beacon academy, they were dressed in the standard uniform of Haven academy, marking them as representatives of their kingdom; however they weren't who they said they were…

"Ah! Beacon academy, the pride of the kingdom of Vale; what a large monument to mankind's arrogance." The young woman said, loud enough for her companions to clearly hear her, but quiet enough to not gain anyone else's attention.

"I like it. So tranquil, as if there was no threat at all." The girl, with dark skin and light green hair, added and even smiled, although her eyes seemed to gauge each and everybody.

"I bet we could start a riot and topple the kingdom, not that anyone here is ready for anything at all." The boy nonchalantly said, dismissing the students as potential opposition.

"I hope you aren't planning to start any trouble, Mercury; the last thing I need is to find myself being delayed for some minor altercate." The young woman quickly said, looking intently at the boy, her yellow eye slightly glowing, as if giving a warning.

"Whoa! I never said that I would do anything like that! I just mentioned that such a thing may be possible." Mercury replied, lifting his hands in clear surrender; he and the girl had been scolded already for some minor disobedience, he didn't feel like repeating that so soon.

"And you, Emerald; keep your cute fingers in your own pockets, because if we have our dorm being visited by the staff due to some 'misplaced' stuff… I'll tear apart your delicate limbs, with my bare hands." The young woman warned to the girl now, her voice seductive, but the message being pure violence.

"Of course, Cinder, I won't disobey." Emerald quickly replied, looking down, either in embarrassment, or in fear.

"Good, now remember, we are students, and we'll act like students; I don't want you to show what you truly are under any circumstance." Cinder stressed the current status of their plans; she had been relieved when no suspects were mentioned due to the little incident at the bookshop, but wasn't willing to risk her nefarious plans anymore.

"WATCH OUT!" A male shout made two of the three to react; Emerald immediately dropped into a half crouch, looking out for threats, while Mercury instantly raised his hand to catch an incoming ball; Cinder didn't even blink.

"I'm so sorry! Didn't intend for that to happen!" A local student reached them instantly, bowing apologetically for the accident; Mercury and Emerald quickly relaxed, trying to portry the faces of common students, while Cinder raised an eyebrow, for she didn't remember that kind of apologetic gesture being part of Vale's culture.

"No problem man! Just be more careful." Mercury replied in a cool voice, while Emerald just shook her head; Cinder kept watching the student, noticing more mannerisms that were not present the year prior.

"You have very nice reflexes, want to play with my team?" The student offered now, with an obvious sincerity and clear intentions, thing that puzzled the young woman.

"Sure man! Just let me and my team set up on our dorm." Mercury replied while handing the ball to the student.

"Excuse me, I can't help but to notice your bowing, last year I visited a friend of mine at downtown Vale, and nobody did something like that." Cinder talked to the student now, trying to sound friendly, but it gave the creeps to Emerald.

"Ah! That's because our kingdom is assimilating Edo culture; you'll see more of it soon." The student explained, and then said farewells to Cinder's group; the trio continued walking to the school, but Cinder seemed in deep thought.

"Wasn't Edo a mere fairy tale?" Mercury asked after some minutes, obviously aware of Cinder's pondering.

"NEVER dismiss a fairy tale; if you do, then you'll share the same fate that this people will suffer." Cinder said in a tone that indicated that there was quite a lot on her mind.

"Will this change your plans?" Emerald quietly asked, earning a soft chuckle from her leader.

"No, of course not; but it doesn't hurt to gather new information. I'll check the library while you two 'mingle' with the local students; we don't want to insult this culture now, do we?" Cinder replied, earning nods from her followers. Emerald glanced toward some trees, after the incident with the ball, she believed to have noticed someone looking intently at them, but that had been with the corner of her eye, and further observation didn't show anything; she didn't inform Cinder though, as it seemed to have been a trick of her instincts, and there was also the possibility of someone falling in love at first sight with any of them.

Behind the bushes, a special team was scribbling the new data gathered, taking notes on looks, skills, and numbers; the new group had been chalked as odd, with a missing member and one of them that didn't seem to belong to the same age group, not exactly suspicious, as a few other teams showed the same attributes, but their need to see their fellow students win the tournament compelled them to gather even the most insignificant data.

Back at the headmaster's office…

Their meeting started as bad as it could start, with a poor attempt to sound friendly, and with Glynda excusing herself to get away from the General, not ideal, but certainly not the worst scenario.

"James… did you really not thought that bringing a whole army may make people feel concerned?" Ozpin asked with as much tact as he could, for as much as he owed the General, this was pushing the limits of the relations between kingdoms.

"Well, it was concern what moved me." Ironwood tried to explain, although his softened voice didn't help the situation.

"Well, I understand that travel between kingdoms has become more difficult in recent times, but…" Ozpin decided to go for sarcasm, but the general didn't seem to get it, or simply ignored it.

"Oz, you know what I'm talking about." Ironwood tried again, as if trying to ensure that his soldiers will be allowed to stay.

"I know, keeping an eye on your experiment, and preparing for war, always preparing for war." Ozpin said as he began to rub the bridge of his nose; his answer took the general by surprise.

"Oh… so, you know." Ironwood said a little bit surprised, not at the fact that Ozpin knew about it, but that he hadn't expelled Penny already.

"It wasn't hard to put together, I mean, daughter of a scientist of the joint project, which has only scientist with no families? I have to admit though, that the most important piece of evidence was her fitness record… no normal girl can weight over 600 pounds and be THAT fit." Ozpin explained, making Ironwood face palm.

"I suppose I was too hasty when sending the dossiers… So, what do you think of the prototype?" Ironwood asked now, hopping to evade the topic on why did Ozpin allow the exercise to begin with.

"She is a lovely little lady, an adorable and very REAL lady; I don't know what did you expect of her, but she is not a tool of war. I have no doubt that she will fight to protect what she loves, but not due to commands or orders. I understand if you believe her to be property of the atlesian army, but heed my advice, let her live." Ozpin said now, saying the truth, while also hopping to topple Ironwood's plans on having a large robot army capable of generating aura.

"Thank you for saying all of this; that is exactly what I hoped for. I have to admit that when I heard of her rather peaceful disposition, I was disappointed; but then you made me aware that the replacement we are looking for had to be someone who embodied the desire for peace, and that could understand love…" Ironwood began to explain, although to Ozpin it looked like a poorly made up plan, as in the fly…

"You are meaning to tell me that she is your response to the replacement of the maiden?" Ozpin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes!" Ironwood said while trying to portray conviction, Ozpin simply chuckled.

"You just couldn't wait to get the teachings of the Voice of the Heavens, could you?" Ozpin asked with a mild smile, making the General flinch.

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't control the kingdom of Vale. It was not my call when it was decided that both the culture and the religion had to go through a period of testing before allowing its spread to the other kingdoms; even now, the students that are part of the cult are aching to spread their religion to every outsider that enters the gate of this school, but the word of the council was final, so they have to wait until the approbation is given. You only had to wait, a couple of years at most, to have them knocking on your door; not that I mind your cadets being here, not with that display of humanity in their spirits." Ozpin continued his explanation, and Ironwood finally laughed, for as much as he hated being exposed, he had to admit that the last report had him rolling in the floor of his office.

"I still can't believe it, a food fight, of all things…" Ironwood knew that with such group, something outrageous may happen, but to know who were the ones who started it; well, he found it more suprising that the troublemaker was not the initiator.

Meanwhile, team RWBY started their special training under the guidance of their boyfriends, away from preying eyes, but in hours and places that were not suspicious…

When Ruby heard the word training, she believed that Kanetsugu would drag her to the training facilities, to mow down the robots repeatedly; instead, she was dragged to the gardens…

"Training the body may be important, but if your mind and heart are no in harmony, you'll perish. I'll teach you a very special technique, now open your heart and clear your mind." Kanetsugu commanded, and Ruby obeyed, trusting her beloved boyfriend with her very soul; soon she found herself in a bright place, where the only thing she could see was Kanetsugu; she saw him extend his hand to grasp the air, and then his sword materialized, Ruby understood what she was tasked to do, and tried, a few times, and then finally managed to do it, although Crescent Rose seemed to be faint, and not very sturdy; when she saw him pointing his weapon at her, she understood that she was going to train her willpower.

When Weiss heard the word training, she believed that Mitsuhide would become an even worse slave driver, so it came as a great surprise when she was told to show him all her moves, in slow motion.

"Perfection can only be achieved by constant repetition, but repetition of the same mistakes will never make perfection. Every day you will practice the set of moves that makes your sword style, slowly, making sure to use a tempo that can be translated to each and every move, ensuring that no movement is done wrong; this is called a kata, and through the use of the kata, you'll reach perfection." Mitsuhide explained, all while using his katana to make each and every move of his style, but in slow motion, and yet, Weiss could tell that they were done in the same relative speed as if done in combat; as she began to do as requested, she began to comprehend the sense of perfection, as well as the ridiculous difficulty of moving in slow motion.

Blake's time with the White Fang had taught her that training is never easy, especially when it's labeled as special, but her boyfriend just decided to step into the ridiculous…

"You want my clones to do what?!" Blake exclaimed, not believing the hard task that was asked of her.

"I want them to feint attacks and moves; they serve as a great decoy to cover your movement, but once the enemy figures it, they will know how to counter your semblance, leaving you vulnerable, thing that I will not accept. But if you can send your shadow clone instead of your real body, the enemy will never know where you are, or from where you'll strike; you once told me you wanted to be a shinobi, a ninja, this technique is the cornerstone of their battle doctrine, and I won't allow you to be part of this war if you don't learn it." Nobunaga's words were final, and somewhat endearing, for he wanted her to be safe, even when fighting; the fact that this style would place her closer to her dream of being a real ninja helped greatly to inspire her to do her best… it wasn't any easier though.

When Yang was taken inside the storage room for training she had believed it to be an excuse to get romantic, after all, of her team she was the strongest, especially if angered; it came as a great surprise that there was a special training for her.

"I understand the need to be stronger, but don't you think I can get strong enough?" Yang asked with a curious smile, which only grew as Ranmaru grinned.

"Oh, I know you can get strong enough to knock down a giant with a single punch; my problem is that it requires you to get hurt and angry at the same time. What I want is for you to perfectly control your rage." Ranmaru explained while guiding Yang to kneel before him, to which she raised an eyebrow, but didn't resist.

"Like not giving in, or not allow my rage to control me?" Yang asked, taking turns between looking at his eyes, and looking at his… waist; Ranmaru chuckled a little, and then knelt down in front of her.

"Yes and no; I want you to be able to call on your full rage without needing anything to trigger it, I need you to fully control your strength at will. To do this, I will first trigger it, while you let it flow through you, all without unleashing it; you need to get a good feel of it, to remember every second of it, so when you truly need it, you can call upon it." Ranmaru explained, and then slaped Yang with moderate force; Yang understood immediately what will come next, so she didn't complain about it, but heavens help her boyfriend, because she was going to demand repairs once the training finished…

Thus the White Knights trained in secret, giving the appearances of dates, or shady escapades, nothing out of the ordinary for teenagers; and after it were done, and the classes were over, they found themselves finding a little bit of respite in the library…

"Ok, now that both our bodies and brains hurt like hell, let's relax with a super fun board game!" Ruby said with enough energy to not seem devastated by the special training, thing that the others couldn't do, although they replied with a quiet cheer, wanting to get distracted from the aches they were suffering.

"Since our guys are not here right now, we are enough to play… Remnant Conquest!" Ruby cheered once more as she took out of her backpack the board and the cards required to play, then a small booklet came out of her backpack too, falling to the floor, much to her horror, and to the others curiosity.

"What is this? The hero of love?" Blake asked as she picked it up, Ruby tried to take it back, but Weiss managed to be faster, taking it from Blake's hand.

"It's been ages since I last saw this fairy tale… in fact; I think this is indeed one of the old versions!" Weiss said as she recognized how old the booklet was, the pages were yellowish instead of its typical white, and yet it seemed religiously well cared for.

"Yes! I like this kind of books! Like everyone else! NOW GIVE IT BACK!" Ruby was getting desperate, flailing her arms like a little child, earning chuckles from her teammates, while Yang narrowed her eyes at the scene.

"You don't have to get embarrassed about it; I personally love fairy tales and other books." Weiss said as she began to handle the booklet to Ruby, who only pouted while reaching for it.

"I like mine a little bit more mature in content, but I agree; there is no shame on this." Blake said, but when Ruby was about to grab the booklet, it was yanked by her eldest sister.

"Unless it is because this is YOUR personal favorite!" Yang suddenly shouted, much to Ruby's horror, and to the others puzzlement.

"YANG! NO!" Ruby shouted while trying to reach for her book, but Yang kept moving away from the leader of her team, giggling madly at this opportunity to have fun.

"You'll see, Rubes here found her first love within the pages of this tale, I think she even…" Yang tried to continue her cruel teasing while evading and fumbling through the pages, trying to find the exact reason for Ruby's distress; then the booklet was taken from her hands, not by Ruby, but by someone else.

"I think MANY young ladies fell in love with the hero of this fairy tale, myself included; it's hard not to with how valiant and regal he is portrayed." Glynda said, leaving the others speechless, and Ruby with a gleam on her eyes. Glynda had ended up in the library in her desperate quest to get away from the General, and now felt giddy at finding something actually interesting, outside of her usual activities.

"I must admit that I never expected to find one of the old versions, I still remember imagining the drawings moving, and hearing the voices of the characters." Glynda said as she opened the booklet, picking up her favorite scene…

"And so it was, that the hero of love marched into the dark tower; wielding justice in one hand, and light in the other, the gates were parted aside without opposition, and the darkness itself fled from his sight with every step he took…" Glynda began to recite the fragment of the tale, feeling herself younger while doing so; she idly noted how the picture of the tower resembled the Edo architecture described by Nobunaga.

"Through all the floors the hero marched, slaying the shadows with his light, and falling down the evil with justice…" Glynda continued her reading, enthralling the entire team RWBY, and a few others that were close by; personally she never understood the references of the light and the justice, but being such an old tale, it could mean anything.

" **Oh, evil king! The cries of the people have ignited this fire in my heart, and my love for them compels me to vanquish you!"**

"The hero said to the master of the tower, who cowered in fear at the light of the hero and the justice in his hand." Glynda continued; her eyes glued at the shadowed images, of a man glowing like fire, and another placing his arms in front of him, as if trying to shield himself from some kind explosion.

" **Do you think you'll be able destroy the heart of darkness? The very essence of evil? The people that you claim to love and defend gave me the strength to rule them. Will you slay them too?"**

"The evil king shouted, trying to taint the resolve of the hero with doubt." Glynda continued, changing her voice to try to portray the characters, or at least the way she imagined them; she was so engrossed in her storytelling, that she didn't notice three of the members of team RWBY to go eerily quiet and wide eyed.

" **Neither your words nor your darkness will ever stop me; because my justice is tempered with love! And my light shines like the sun!"**

"And then the hero and the evil king entered in battle, but were lesser men could be engulfed with the darkness, the light of the hero ruled, and where mere steel would break, his justice pierced through. Thus the evil king was vanquished by the hero, who then ignored each and every treasure that was in the throne room; instead just taking the hand of the beautiful golden statue, which promptly changed into soft and warm flesh, for the love in the heart of the hero was all that was needed to set free the cursed damsel." Glynda continued, reading more to herself, even forgetting that she was in a public place; by now not only the members of team RWBY had wide open eyes, but several other students too, especially from the members of the cult of the Voice of the Heavens.

" **Oh! Valiant hero of the rising sun! I knew that someone like you would save me; please take my hand, and never let me go."**

"The damsel said, giving herself to the hero of love, because she knew that no other man would be better for her, and her people. Thus ended the travels of the hero of love, who settled down to speak with the sun, and speak the words of the sky." Glynda finished, looking fondly at the pictures of a colorful town with the sun over it, the she noticed an extra drawing, made with crayons by an obviously small child.

"AAWWWW, you even drew yourself with the hero! With his white coat and… love symbol on his forehead…" Glynda said while looking at the crude and childish drawing; her mind came to violent crashing halt as the dots finally connected. Ruby MAY have thought it coincidence, but to her, it explained quite a lot…

"Ahem… thank you for allowing me to relive a little bit of my childhood. Now, if you excuse me, I have duties to attend to; have a nice evening." Glynda said while handing back the booklet to a now very self aware Ruby, who tried to hide below her hood, in vain; Glynda for her part couldn't hide her stiff walk, or hurried pace, her mind was running wild, at all the possible implications.

Behind a bookshelf, Cinder had heard the whole tale, not in wonder, but in primordial fear; she knew very well that fairy tales were the result of lost lore, meaning that there was truth hiding in them, like the tale of the 'shadow queen', the 'seasonal maidens', and 'the outsider'; then she heard the voices of the teenagers, telling the girl in red that her boyfriend was too similar to 'the hero of love', and that is when she heard the worst, that said boyfriend was a tribal, supposed descendant of Edo…

 _"Above all else, fear the silver eyes and the sunlight of the east."_

HER warning had been too sinister to dismiss it, now she had to make sure to know everything about this tribal, and find a way to neutralize him IF he had any relation to the fairy tale… but first, she needed to give some new orders, and warnings… especially warnings.

Emerald was currently sitting in a couch of the common room, not of the dorms that were assigned to her team, but of the local students, result of having no rules or regulations about access to the buildings and facilities, also this was the reunion point for her companions. She had conflicting emotions about her surroundings; on one hand, there was a lot of camaraderie, with people helping each other, everyone being friendly and helpful, and even playful, for she couldn't help but to laugh after being softly zapped with the handshake of a particularly chubby student, all in good fun, as she found after being invited a soft drink after the prank; and yet she hated it, because she was denied all of this when she needed it the most…

Gaining access to the rumor mill had been difficult, but no more than expected; the information gained though, had seemed inconsequential; the cult of weirdoes was the highlight, with the members being stronger than average, and strangely unified, with no distinction between faunus and human; to her it seemed to be a scam in the making, a convoluted excuse to get laid, or wooing as many victims as possible; the important parts for her were the information about the mistral champion and her current toy boy, and the talk about the dark knight and his sword of darkness, things that mostly will interest Cinder.

"There, it's ready! Now let's wait for… oh! I see one coming this way!" One of the local students said in a hushed voice while placing a bucket of water over the door, a very old trick, but Emerald decided it may be fun to watch, for she was certain that Mercury would be the next to enter, as if was time for him to arrive.

The sound of the door opening had her watching the scene intently, the splashing sound was characteristic of a successful outcome, and she couldn't help but to have her eyes glued on the victim…

Cinder was standing there, below the door frame; her hair was now damped and a wet mess, her uniform drenched, and her glaring eye fully focused in a now trembling Emerald; the message in her stare was obvious, someone was going to pay for this incident, in the immediate future. Emerald watched as Cinder walked directly to her, ignoring the laughs, snorts and cat calls; such sounds died just as fast as her clothes and hair dried due to intense heat, vapor was perfectly visible, and by the time she reached Emerald, her messed hair was the only evidence left of the prank.

"Where is Mercury?" Cinder asked in an unsettling calm voice.

"I guess he is still playing with the other boys, I mean I…" Emerald tried to remain calm, but she couldn't hide her fear.

"Go for him, and then meet me at the dorm." Cinder ordered in what everyone assumed was her annoyed voice, that didn't stop certain students from taking notes.

"Of course! At once!" Emerald replied and then darted out of the room, earning a couple more chuckles.

In a nondescript warehouse, undisclosed location…

Roman Torchwick was still sore, aching for revenge, but oddly enough, not really wanting to meet his enemy soon; his new right arm, a robotic replacement, was giving him trouble, sending painful jolts to his brain every now and then, a possible result of it being installed by a shady and unlicensed medic or mechanic, or the aftermath of being cut by that cursed sword…

"Shouldn't you have that arm checked?" A female voice called the attention of the criminal, who couldn't help but to notice the bottle of painkillers in her hand.

"Do you know any 'good' doctor that would attend me?" Roman asked, not bothering to hide that he was looking at all her curves… and her fox tail.

"No, but we could kidnap a mechanic, I think I saw an honest looking one a few blocks away from here." The faunus woman said in a curious soft voice; she was the only survivor of the group that Adam had lend to Roman, a member of the White Fang.

"Thanks Foxy, but somehow I don't think this is the result of a wrongly placed wire of screw. Did the new recruit arrive?" Roman asked with a rather strange familiarity and softness; Foxy had nursed him during his short period of recovery, and during that time, she confessed why she and the others were fond of him, they were psychopaths, just like him, drawn to the chaos, mayhem and misery; they had joined the White Fang in hopes of finding such, but it had been Roman who truly delivered what they wanted.

"Yes, I'll let her in now." Foxy replied while going to the entrance; Roman watched her, drinking her features, when they were a complete unit, he had joked about not minding 'bonding' with them all, and even said that at the end, they were welcome to form a band with him… now he hopped that Adam didn't get a word about his current relationship with the fox faunus.

"Here she is, Neo Politan; cat burglar and master infiltrator, or so she writes." Foxy said as she presented the newcomer, a petit girl with an odd taste of style, and pleasant smile.

"A little bit shorter than expected, but I'm not complaining; are you ready for the mission?" Roman talked to the girl, knowing that her reputation was more than enough to merit both the money and the trust. The girl merely struck a sexy pose, and extended her hand while rubbing her fingers, an obvious gesture demanding money.

"Ah, yes; you'll be paid, very well paid; you can even take your pick, raw lien dust crystals." Roman reassured the girl, who showed just one finger to signal her choice, almost making the criminal and the faunus growl.

"Money then; let's get going." Roman said, but got stopped by the end of an umbrella, he didn't had to take a guess to know that there was a blade hidden there; Neo repeated the gesture about the money, but with determined eyes that ignored the fact that the faunus was aiming at her with a gun.

"YIKES! Ok, ok! I wasn't told that you worked like that." Roman said as he took out of the pocket a fat deck of lien cards, which were taken from his hands by a now smiling Neo, who motioned for him to lead the way.

"Now that we came to an understanding, let's go; we have to pick up some 'misplaced' atlesian cargo, and hopefully, we won't find any tribesmen in the way." Roman said as he left the building with the two girls, with a head full of dark thoughts of vengeance.

* * *

 **Magnus:** As you may have guessed, A minor Hiccup and Painting the town are going to play different, but don't worry, they will be action packed nonetheless.


	19. A Minor Hiccup

**Magnus:** A critical part of the story here, I hope you like the changes to the original path; enjoy, and remember, read and review!

 **Disclaimer:** Did I already mention that Kage Bijuu owns Kage Tamashii?

* * *

 **Chapter 19**

 **A Minor Hiccup**

It has been a couple of days now, but to Emerald they felt like weeks; still torn between loving and hating the school, she decided to follow Cinder's orders with all her focus, for she will not betray her, even when this style of life was so tempting; Cinder's orders had been a little bit more confusing than ever, not because she had pointed to possible enemies, but because they had been oddly focused.

"Mercury is already going to learn everything he can from the Mistral champion and this dark knight, your task will be to check this priest from Edo, and the one with silver eyes, I want to know who they really are, and how corruptible they are." Cinder's orders sounded far more evil than usual, not that she was complaining, she certainly wanted to take a peek at the scammer, and she what can she gain from him.

Later that day…

As expected, Mercury chose the sparring matches to learn about his objectives, and since team JNPR had a different schedule this day, he settled for challenging the one who matched the description of the 'dark knight'…

"GAHH!" Mercury shouted in real pain as his body was flipped by the savage hit, his opponent not even batting an eyelash at his mangled body, and yet, no sign of sweat or physical strain.

Unfortunately, Mercury did not look after the dark knight, and instead allowed his hormones to control his judgment, thus he challenged an irritatingly pretty girl, with an irritatingly weird name.

"Ok… you are good, very good; time to take off the kiddy gloves then." Mercury said as he took a more serious stance, and yet, the girl still fought handicapped, with her extremely long and thin blade being covered in its sheath, making use of it like a stick…

Emerald knew that Mercury will not disobey, and of course, that means not using his full strength, or his highly explosive dust rounds; it still bothered her, because as much as she hated it, she recognized him as a very capable fighter, which means that even at half strength, beating a normal student shouldn't be too difficult, and still…

"UGGHH!" Mercury almost lost his lunch due to the incredible pressure applied to his stomach; he had been tripped, thrown on his back, and then the girl slammed the tip of her sheathed blade on his stomach, with an incredible amount of force.

Emerald recognized the girl as Ranmaru; word was that she came with the tribesmen of the Far East, of the Edo tribe, that helped her in taking note of the other tribesmen, including her objective. She had previously learned that the priest dressed in white robes and used a ridiculously tall hat, which were nearly impossible to miss in the present crowd, then she noticed Mercury's objective, because with that black plate mail and ornate black steel sword, it was obvious that the guy with the tall pony tail was the famous dark knight.

"AAAAHHH!" Mercury's girly scream and the buzzing sound returned Emerald's attention to the battle, or better said, end of the battle; Mercury was there, on the ground, holding his family jewels in obvious and hilarious pain.

"And the winner is Ranmaru Mori. Mr. Black, you should be thankful of your opponent's self restrain, otherwise you could have ended much worse." Glynda stated, apparently amazed that the guy ended mostly intact; Emerald was unsettled though, for it was a flawless victory, either Mercury played weak on purpose, or the girl was far more skilled than she let on.

"Noted." Mercury replied with a muffled voice, and then tried to leave for his seat with some dignity, with no success at all.

Emerald watched the pretty girl, this Ranmaru; she walked to her seat with a sprint, first looking at the dark knight, as if asking for his input, and it seemed that a simple nod was enough reward to make her swoon; and just then she darted to the waiting arms of a blond bombshell, meaning that she was most likely family of the dark knight, and a lesbian…

"She is going to pay for this… I'm going to enjoy open her up and…" Mercury rambled as he reached Emerald's side, to which she only rolled her eyes.

"Well, if you hadn't tried to 'palm strike' her ass and chest the whole time, maybe you could have done better." Emerald said in a mocking tone as she enjoyed him being beaten; she had been lucky that Cinder stopped his attempts on her, as the guy had trouble understanding the word 'no', especially when it meant that there would not be intimate interaction.

"I fought more 'seriously' later on… and now I learn she is a lesbian; I'm so going to enjoy opening her up and her girlfriend with my…" Mercury continued to ramble as he glared in Ranmaru's direction, noticing how she was engaging in some skin ship with a blonde bombshell.

"Focus, Mercury; you and I have a job to do." Emerald warned in a hushed voice, not wanting to be heard by the nearby students.

"Really now? Have you discovered anything while I was trying to befriend a hot chick?" Mercury asked, obviously sore for his recent defeat and humiliation.

"As a matter of a fact, yes; it seems that the girl you tried to molest is family to the dark knight you are supposed to research, also, she is in the same team as the priest I'm researching. It's all about using your brain, although I can understand the level of difficulty for you, as the head you seem to preffer to use has no brain." Emerald replied, internally laughing at the face of confusion of the assassin.

"Shut up and let's watch the next fight." Mercury replied while trying to sound as if he had already recovered; it was then that the combat instructor called the two students shown in the monitor: Kage Tamashi and Mitsuhide Akechi.

"At last! I was hoping to fight one of your team for some time now!" Kage said as he finished bowing to Glynda and Mitsuhide, obviously trying to respect their cultural mannerisms.

"Then let's hope this fight is challenging enough." Mitsuhide replied in a voice that sounded a little too high, pretentious even, but it only made Kage's grin turn all the more savage.

"Gentlemen, remember the rules, and fight fair." Glynda stated as the two combatants drew their weapons, and as she gave the signal to begin, the red headed soldier launched himself against the samurai.

"What the?!" Kage shouted when Mitsuhide did what he never expected, he parried the thrust strike, breaking the balance of the fiery warrior.

"A surprise assault only works on a target that doesn't see it coming." Mitsuhide quietly said to the red head, and then slashed him two times in rapid succession, taking a chunk of his aura bar, but nothing too serious.

"HA! If it seemed like a surprise attack is because I'm faster than you!" Kage shouted as he launched himself again, this time twirling his short pikes to disorient the samurai.

"Being faster is meaningless if you can't focus in the task ahead." Mitsuhide calmly replied, while hitting his opponent in the face with the pommel of his katana, making him lose focus, but not momentum, which made him fall forward… he stood up instantly.

"YIKES! Is that a prediction semblance?!" Kage shouted his question, amazed at the samurai's display of inhuman coordination.

"Would that make any difference?" Mitsuhide asked, showing neither surprise nor confusion, earning an even more feral grin from the fire dancer.

"Of course it does; let me show you!" Kage replied as he slammed the pikes together, forming a long double bladed staff; then he hit the floor and dragged one blade against it, making the bladed head catch fire, then he twirled the staff, with an incredible high speed; then he began to dance.

"With a fiery heart he charges against me; so I shall greet him like a flowing river." Mitsuhide said as he sheathed his katana, his eyes closed, and his heart rhythm calm.

"Cool headed, but still violent." Weiss muttered on her seat, already anticipating the outcome; meanwhile Blake covered her eyes, still hating how Mitsuhide moved like Adam in that posture.

"BURNING!" Kage shouted with all his strength, making his teammates fear for the safety of the samurai, while Nobunaga frowned, worried about the possible outcome of the move; his worries diminished when he saw how Mitsuhide opened his eyes long before the last moment.

"RUSH!" Kage's shout resounded even outside the arena, just at the same time that Mitsuhide unsheathed his katana; the rest of the students only saw Kage's flames go away with a shockwave, immediately followed by a buzzing sound; then they focused in both warriors, which were standing there, almost back to back.

"That fire in your heart, that resolve and courage; I've only seen it once before." Mitsuhide slowly said as he sheathed his katana; the spectators saw how he sported some scorched marks on his armor, and a few scratches in an arm.

"How… did you… ?" Kage muttered as he lowered his weapon, which suddenly broke apart; his shirt was torn open, signaling where the blade had passed, and a reddened line showed that part of the attack had bleeded through his aura.

"I once fought a man who almost brought me to my knees, and that survived through the worst that a tyrant could throw at him. Keep the fire ignited, but learn to cool your head." Mitsuhide said as he turned to bow at the combat instructor, who acknowledged his victory.

"And with that, Mitsuhide Akechi is the winner; class is over now, so take a moment to recover and focus for the next class of the day." Glynda said as she allowed the students to change their mindsets for the Grimm combat tactics class; meanwhile, Emerald watched the last two fighters, she noted that Kage was looking intently at Mitsuhide, while trying to pay attention to the weird girl that seemed to be his leader, which didn't seem too happy with the outcome; meanwhile Mitsuhide was received with only a nod from the dark knight, and a minor reprimand from the Schnee heiress.

"That guy is good; he could have killed the red head had he aimed for the neck and not the chest, maybe there will be some challenge in fighting these guys." Mercury casually said, earning the attention of the thief.

"Do you think that was his full strength? He moved like Adam, and that is something I don't like." Emerald replied to her partner, who seemed to agree with her.

"Well, he was too calm; that means that he only used what was necessary to win, I can respect that. He still got damaged though; if he is saving his strength, then he isn't saving too much of it." Mercury concluded, not that it fully reassured the thief; she will make sure to report this to Cinder.

Later that evening…

After classes, teams RWBY and NKRA had secluded themselves within the shrine of love; the place had been vacated by Kanetsugu's order, surprising even Nobunaga when the members of the cult didn't even showed confusion, and simply obeyed.

"Is this normal?" Mitsuhide suddenly asked to Ruby, who merely shrugged as a form of reply.

"We are safe now; please be quick though, as it is improper to keep the doors sealed for long." Kanetsugu said as he finished placing a couple of paper charms on the closed doors.

"Of course. As you all know, our small intelligence network is gathering all the information they come upon, and a couple of hours ago, I got a request to pick up sensitive information from Junior." Nobunaga said with a seriousness that was ominous.

"Why does he need us to pick it up? Wouldn't it be easier to send it with the mouse?" Weiss asked, earning the combined glares from Blake and Ruby.

"She is not wrong. Nobunaga, is there a reason for this?" Mitsuhide intervened before Weiss had to form needless apologies.

"Either he wants to prevent the information being intercepted, or it is too much to send through the usual means; it matters not, Ranmaru and Yang will pick it up." Nobunaga answered, giving direct orders to the pair that had previously contacted the information dealer.

"Got it!" Yang replied for both her and Ranmaru, who merely nodded; Weiss raised an eyebrow, noticing how easily Yang was getting into the same vein of loyalty that Ranmaru shows.

"Meanwhile, Nobu and I will sneak our way into a White Fang meeting to learn the latest news." Blake suddenly said; she had tried to convince the visionary that she could do it alone, but his word had been final, she'll never move alone, ever again.

"Do you know where to look for? I don't think they advertise those meetings." Ruby asked with concern.

"There is nothing to worry about it, our intelligence network got us the locations of the next six meetings; we just need to show a very low profile, we aren't going to bust any operation." Nobunaga explained when he noticed Ruby's worried eyes.

"Then take this, it is not real protection, but will decrease any kind of aggression you may face… as long as you don't provoke it." Kanetsugu suddenly said as he handed a pair of talismans to the dar pair.

"You know, since you are already being active about this, Mitsuhide and I can visit the CIT to make a call to the SDC; I could ask for some data regarding the latest shipments and related mishaps." Weiss suddenly proposed, taking most by surprise.

"Wouldn't it be easier to make the call from the library?" Yang asked with a knowing smile, making Weiss to look away from her.

"We are trying to evade the heralds of the abyss, remember?" Mitsuhide said, already knowing Weiss plan.

"Of course; and what a better way to do so, than to make use of a small and secluded cubicle in a far away tower." Ranmaru said while crossing his arms; no one objected to the plan though.

"I guess we should help too, but I don't know what we could do to gain any more information." Kanetsugu said dejectedly, not liking how the others were doing useful stuff, leaving him to only pray for their safety and success.

"Well, Penny and her team are going to assist to an atlesian demonstration, we could go too; I mean, showing new weapons could attract the attention of the White Fang and Torchwick, and give us a lead on what to look for." Ruby said before anyone could tell Kanetsugu that his prayers were more than welcome.

"Makes sense; When I was a member, we used the public demonstrations to know where to aim for, and when to simply run away." Blake said, earning nods from the rest.

"Very well, we'll leave the school tomorrow as if going in dates; scroll communication will be only allowed on emergencies, understood?" Nobunaga said as a final instruction, receiving nods in return.

The meeting took barely fifteen minutes, and then they left the shrine. Rounding one of the corners, Emerald looked at the retreating forms of the two teams, frowning intently at them; she had tried to listening through the closed doors, but couldn't hear anything at all, then she tried to slightly open the doors, but found that impossible, even when the knobs were unlocked. She thought herself fortunate though, as she managed to listen to what they were saying as they left, speaking of all the fun they were going to have in their dates.

"Well, at least is something not unexpected… but why the security?" Emerald muttered to herself, while slowly approaching the shrine.

"In Edo culture, privacy is highly valuated; unfortunately they found that in this land there are some people that don't even know the meaning of that word." A female voice sounded behind the thief, nearly killing her from a heart attack.

"GAAHH!... Don't do that!" Emerald shouted to the girl, barely noticing that she had bunny ears.

"So, what are you trying to do here?" Velvet asked as neutral as possible; she felt that she owed a lot of her happiness to the battle monk and his religion, so she felt compelled to protect him.

"I'm not a thief! I just wanted to know more about your curious religion, and since you all seem so 'hermetic', I thought that the priest may answer my questions." Emerald replied with as much charisma as she could, knowing that these cultists were far too secretive.

"You have not being accused of such; I'm sorry we can't show you the wonders of our religion, but it is not our choice to be as hermetic as you say. Don't worry too much, I'm certain that after the tournament is over, the council will approve our religion as official, and then we'll gladly share it with the rest of the world." Velvet said with a pleasant smile, and then left without waiting for a reply from the outsider; she was immediately followed by a small group of the cult, and then they entered the shrine and closed its doors again, leaving a very confused thief outside.

Inside the shrine…

"My love?" Yatsuhashi asked as he saw the very scary frown on his girlfriend.

"We have a thief among the outsiders, her heartbeat betrayed her." Velvet replied, making everyone else frown; all of them had chalked Kanetsugu as a prophet, and as such they had fully believed him when he said that someone may come to steal the teachings.

"Then we will protect." Yatsuhashi said full of conviction, not that anyone was less zealous.

Next day, after classes…

They were ready, both to carry their missions, and to give a false appearance; Ruby was using a black corset over a red skirt and grey blouse, her shoulder sported a metallic badge of some sort, she was still wearing her red cape though; Weiss was wearing an elaborated winter dress; Blake had decided to enhance her looks with stretchy black pants and white blouse that showed her belly button; Yang had decided to be even bolder with a white and black set up that consisted on a suit which showed part of her black bra, and a miniskirt that seemed incredibly risky; Nobunaga was dressed in a dark blue casual shirt and black dress pants, black fingerless gloves at his hands, and his hair in a slicked back fashion, reaching his shoulders; Kanetsugu had settled for a white overcoat and tan shirt and pants, his hair though, was kept on a ponytail as usual, but without his helmet; Ranmaru sported baggy black shorts and a large lilac shirt that was far too large for him, with a black tank top visible under it, coupled with his long hair being free, it seemed that for once, he wanted to look less masculine; Mitsuhide used black shirt and pants, with a white jacket over it, his hair tied just like Kanetsugu's… their girlfriends seemed to enjoy their casual, yet alluring, style.

The four couples were seen leaving the main gate of the school, cheerful about the time they will spend, and how much fun they'll have, a rather quintessential scene…

"Should we follow them?" Emerald asked to her leader and to his companion, the three of them had been watching the two enigmatic guys, but had not been able to learn anything new.

"No; we should have better luck while they aren't here. Mercury, you should try to learn more about the champion, especially with less distractions present; Emerald, see if you can gain access to this 'shrine of love', I need to know if it is a scam as you say; but don't force your way in, try to be subtle." Cinder ordered, making Mercury flinch, but Emerlad smile.

"Sure thing." Mercury replied as he left to carry his mission.

"You can consider it done." Emerald replied, eager to put her skills at use.

"Emerald! Don't do anything that may arise suspicion, or that can be tracked back at us." Cinder stressed her point, but Emerald limited herself to nod; Cinder was worried, her orders had been mired with warnings, but she had no way to know if these people were the ones SHE had mentioned.

At the CIT…

Weiss had taken a moment to bask in the fact that she was incredible more knowledgeable than her boyfriend, who had been understandably awestruck at the sight of the enormous tower no doubt filled with technological stuff.

"The CIT is the bridge that allows communication between kingdoms, otherwise our scrolls could only be able to reach a few miles at best, and be prone to find interference." Weiss explained the best she could while leaving out the most technical terminology.

"And each kingdom has one of these?" Mitsuhide asked, still awed at the marvel that is technology.

"Yes, albeit Atlas has the largest one; this allows the atlesian army to be able to individually reach all the kingdoms, and answer distress calls with celerity." Weiss answered with no little pride on her voice, mostly because she truly believed in the atlesian army.

"How fast are we talking about?" Mitsuhide asked as he took a picture of the CIT with his scroll.

"It really depends on the nature of the emergency; a Grimm invasion could require a couple of days, because the Hunters are supposed to intervene first, and the bunkers can keep the civilians safe for weeks, or even months; an act of war would be answered within twenty four hours though, because that would endanger the stability of the kingdoms… I guess a large terrorist attack could fall within this kind of response." Weiss explained once more, but this time noticed Mitsuhide's frown.

"Weiss, what would happen if the CIT were to be disabled?" Mitsuhide slowly asked, making Weiss finally able to see where he was going.

"A malfunction of a CIT is not that uncommon… as I'm given to understand, Atlas would wait between forty eight to seventy two hours of silence before sending a small scout with a technician… oh dust…" Weiss finally answered in horror, seeing a potential strike against a mayor defense of the kingdom.

"We'll have to prepare a countermeasure for such a thing; let's go and finish our task, so we can take a moment to find peace to our minds and hearts." Mitsuhide said as he took Weiss hand to enter the building.

The ride in the elevator had been a little bit enlightening for Mitsuhide, as he watched how Weiss desperately tried to force a smile to remain on her face, but the more they approached to the floor to make the call, the worse she feared.

"Trying to force it will only make it go away." Mitsuhide said as he looked at her with concern.

"I can't allow anyone back at the SDC to see me sad or angry, they'll report immediately to my father, and then he'll use it as an excuse to force me to return… and I don't want that." Weiss finally said, knowing that her boyfriend wanted her to be happy.

"I understand, but perhaps we could try to put a real smile in your face." Mitsuhide softly said, and then surprised the heiress furthermore with a kiss on her lips; days of faking a forced relationship with no chance of sharing any warm feelings had left them with a dire need to feel love, that's why their kiss lasted as long as it took for the elevator to reach the floor they needed to reach, and that's why once the stepped out, Weiss sported a silly grin that would not look out of place on Ruby's face.

At Junior's club…

Yang and Ranmaru entered the club hours before it was opened to the public, and while that in itself could be seen as mildly suspicious, the large advertisement outside helped to cover their presence, for it read as: Recruiting Staff.

"I was expecting to finally meet your lord, but I guess he has his hands full with the Adel girl and the Schnee heiress." Junior said as he guided the pair of beauties to the bar.

"Not only with them, but with the atlesian general too; his arrival was unexpected, but it can provide some support if things go awry." Ranmaru replied in his cool and calm voice, earning a surprised stare from the bearded man, who was understandably scared of hearing that he was working with someone who could mingle with such an important person.

"So, what was so important that our little mouse couldn't carry?" Yang asked, still trying to not order some drink, for even she understood that business come first.

"Right; two days ago four bodies were found in some dumpsters of the red light district, three women and one man, brutally mauled to the point of not being recognizable." Junior said as he showed some pictures of the decomposing bodies, wondering why the two girls in front of him didn't even seem unsettled.

"I take it this is a rare occurrence?" Ranmaru asked, knowing that this could be important, even if he didn't see a direct connection.

"No, it isn't; nobody dies in the red light district, it's extremely bad for business." Yang was the one to reply, knowing that such place had to be as tourist friendly as possible.

"Correct, and thanks to my contacts in the brothels, we now know that these four are from the Haven academy of Mistral." Junior added, as he remembered a group of 'working' girls that cried when they recognized a particular tattoo in one of the bodies.

"So we have a missing team from Mistral, and all heads accounted for at Beacon; Mr. Hei Xiong, your help is most valuable." Ranmaru stated as he began to write the information gathered, he already pictured a horrible image, but his lord most likely will have a better view of the situation at hand.

"Can we see the bodies?" Yang asked, being curious about the level of violence.

"I don't think so; the police took the bodies shortly after I got the pictures; unless of course your lord can provide a way in to the morgue." Junior replied, trying to sound as if not daring; Ranmaru's smile gave him the chills, for he thought that such gesture means that entering the police station was of no challenge.

Downtown Vale…

When Ruby and Kanetsugu reached the plaza, they had mixed feelings; one had wanted to see new kinds of weapons and ammunition, things to improve weaponry, the other felt wary of the hollow metal men being shown, even when he agreed with the projection of the man speaking about removing people from harm's way; neither expected to find a loved face within the crowd.

"Friends!" Penny shouted as she went to meet them; the cheerful pair simply hugged her as they reached each other.

"Penny! What are you doing here?" Ruby asked in her childish curiosity; Penny had stated that she actually loved peace, so it made little sense for her to be at a military demonstration.

"My teammates were quite adamant in attending the presentation, and I tagged along because I want us to do things like a team." Penny said, giving an adorable hiccup at the end; she hated being there, so close to the things that reminded her of her true nature, but her companions truly wanted to be at the demonstration, and she couldn't say no after pestering them so much about being together and close.

"I can see them being too entranced by this show of… well… warmongering." Kanetsugu said, struggling to say something nice, but failing to do so, Penny merely shrugged; her team had practically forgotten her existence when the general's hologram began to talk.

Sudden cheers and exclamations of varying nature drew the attention of the trio, just to see the holographic image of a massive metal monster; it gave the creeps to Kanetsugu, who failed to see how that thing could portray peace.

"Why are they showing the prototype?" Penny suddenly said, confusing at the choice of image; she knew that the SDC was helping a lot to make the paladins, but she also knew that the design being shown was just the first working prototypes, her father had made some serious criticism about all the flaws of the model, and the general had agreed to develop a better model.

"Wait, how do you know it's only a prototype?" Ruby suddenly asked, making Penny panic.

"I don't!" Penny quickly said and hiccupped again, covering her mouth in clear fear; Kanetsugu simply patted her head, conveying the feeling of peace to her, after all, they weren't going to interrogate her.

"MY SON! WHERE IS MY SON?!"

The sudden scream of the stressed woman gained the attention of the group; Penny noticed Ruby looking first in the direction of the mother, and Kanetsugu reacting as if moved by some unseen force, his hand moved to point to a rather specific direction, long before his eyes even began to look around.

"There!" Kanetsugu shouted, just in time to see a small kid running after a large rubber ball, right into the middle of the street.

"WATCH OUT!" Ruby shouted as she darted after the kid, forgetting to mix her spirit with her semblance due to the panic of seeing a heavy truck about to crush the kid; she managed to reach him before the truck could hit him, but had no time to do another thing but to shield the poor kid…

"NO!" Penny shouted as she fell between Ruby and the vehicle, using her bare hands to stop it; having the strength to stop the truck was not what surprised the crowd, but the fact that she was not moved from where she was standing; the asphalt had cracked under her feet, and the truck was lifted almost over her head, but she had not moved an inch.

"Is everyone ok?" Kanetsugu asked, and now they noticed that the truck was still in the air, being held by luminous rectangles; with a simple motion of his hand, the truck was returned to the ground, gently.

"I think so… there doesn't seem to be anyone hurt." Penny said as she turned to look at Ruby and the kid… then she noticed Ruby looking at her hands, way too intently.

"Penny?" Ruby asked as she signaled the hands of her quirky friend, which were peeled away due to the friction… showing a rather metallic shape.

"Oh no… NO NO NO NO!" Penny panicked and then ran into an alley; she tried to run away from her friends, believing that they will now reject her due to her inhuman nature, knowing that now she will be called back to the laboratory, never to interact with the world again; she didn't count with Ruby now remembering to mix her semblance with her spirit…

"Penny, please stop!" Ruby said as she appeared in front of a very startled Penny, who made a rather cute impersonation of Weiss when she had pulled the same stunt.

"I…" Penny was at a loss, trying in vain to hide her hands behind her back.

"Penny, what happened, why are you running?" Ruby asked a question with a rather obvious answer, one that Penny didn't want to say.

"No, I can't… you wouldn't understand!" Penny said in total distress, more now that she detected Kanetsugu getting closer.

"Penny, I'm your friend, try me." Ruby said with a heart melting smile.

"You are my friend, right? You promise to continue to do so, right?" Penny asked with alarming urgency, she was incredible afraid of losing her most beloved friends, especially with Kanetsugu's fear of technology.

"Of course, we both promise you to continue to be your friends, because we won't break that oath." Kanetsugu said as he arrived, earning a small 'eep' from Penny.

"Ruby… Kanetsugu… I'm not a real girl…" Penny said in sadness as she showed her hands, with all the mechanical bits exposed. Ruby and Kanetsugu took each one of her hands, and then they nodded to each other.

"Why would you think so? Your soul is real, so is the life you enjoy and share with us." Kanetsugu softly replied, giving her a smile that seemed to be infinite in kindness.

"Do you think that having nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real then me or my boyfriend? You are not like those thin cans we saw in the plaza, you are alive, you are our friend, and we won't love you any less because of this." Ruby elaborated while smiling to Penny, who was way too close to tears now.

"Oh! OH! YOU ARE THE BEST FRIENDS THAT ANYONE COULD HAVE!" Penny finally shouted as she hugged both of them in crushing love, she even lifted them while swinging them from one side to the other.

"You certainly are an adorable Kokeshi!" Kanetsugu said with a small chuckle, recognizing that Penny was full of love, and not of technological garbage; his words made Penny stop though.

"Kokeshi?" Penny asked in honest confusion, tilting her head in a very cute way.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting to stop using my own language. A kokeshi is a doll that its being said to be able to hold a soul." Kanetsugu explained as he regained his footing.

"Like a living doll?" Ruby asked as she imagined an adorable porcelain doll moving on her own… then she and Kanetsugu shared a expression of absolute horror, making Penny fear the worst for a fraction of a second; her fears were unfounded though, for in an instant it became her turn to be hugged with unbelievable force.

"Penny! If you ever are in trouble, if you feel threatened by anyone, or anything, even if it's only a bad feeling or a simple glare, please, come and tell us, any of us, we'll be there for you!" Ruby said with frantic urgency.

"Kokeshi-chan, know that our doors will be always open to you, not mattering the hour or the day, we will welcome you in, and we will protect you." Kanetsugu said in a way that sounded terrifyingly ominous, and yet warm and caring; Penny hugged them back, basking in the beautiful feelings they had for her.

"Thank you! This is far more than I could ever dared to hope; thank you so much!" Penny said with nearly an overload of happiness, but then she sobered up instantly.

"But I have to ask you to keep this as a secret, please, you can't tell anyone about me." Penny said in new distress, for now, more than ever, she couldn't risk this mission to be cancelled.

"We can promise that we won't tell anyone that may use such knowledge against you." Kanetsugu replied, although not in the wording that Penny wanted.

"Penny, does your team know?" Ruby asked, just to be sure.

"No, they don't. They must not know." Penny said, sounded somewhat scared, balling her hands as if to hide the robotic parts.

"HEY! THEY ARE HERE!" Kage's voice resounded through the alley, scaring the three youngsters; Kanetsugu immediately tore apart a sleeve of his white coat, turning into two impromptu bandages, and tried to cover the hands of his beloved friend.

"Penny! Are you alright?!" Kage shouted as he immediately noticed Kanetsugu trying to bandage the hands of his leader; he was not gentle when he pushed the monk aside though.

"I'm fine, hic! It's nothing, hic!" Penny tried in vain to keep her hands from Kage, whose eyes went wide as he noticed how mechanical they were; Ruby and Kanetsugu began to reach for their weapons, fully intent on silencing the guy that MAY threat their friend, but it was unnecessary.

"Hey! Nice prosthetics! No wonder you took down Leo so easily." Kage said, confusing the obvious with the mundane.

"Yes! They are prosthetics, hic! And I don't like them, neither being pointed at or even being mentioned!" Penny quickly said as she began to wrap her hands on the clothes that Kanetsugu gave her.

"Okay, okay! But really, you don't have to be sensitive about them, no one is going to like you less for them; heck, maybe Ciel would like you more…" Kage began to say, making Ruby and Kanetsugu relax, but not Penny.

"I don't want you to tell them, or anyone else." Penny warned in an uncharacteristic serious tone.

"About what?" Ciel asked as she approached, being followed by the ever stern Leo; both of them unaware of what had happened.

"Nothing, hic!" Penny quickly said, not leaving ground for Kage to say anything, Ruby and Kanetsugu glaring at him may have helped though.

"If you say so." Ciel said and then turned to leave, motioning for Kage to follow her, probably to suffer some form of interrogation.

"Penny, never forget what we told you, ok?" Kanetsugu softly said to Penny, who was just a step shy to nuzzle on the bandages in her hands, seeing them as symbols of a friendship that has transcended everything known.

"We have to go now, please be careful, Kokeshi-chan." Ruby said as a fare well, making Penny smile at her new pet name; she shyly waved good-bye to them, and then turned to follow her teammates, just to find Leo looking at her.

"You are hiding something… but whatever it is, I'm sure you'll tell us when you are ready; I won't press the issue, as your… friend." Leo said and then waited for her to move; Ciel and Kage had left under the impression of nothing being wrong, but Leo felt that the monk had been too worried about the wellbeing of his leader, and he won't chalk it as unimportant; Penny simply nodded and then went to where the rest of her team was, being closely followed by the zealot.

Meanwhile, the rest of teams RWBY and NKRA had received a cryptic and ominous message on their scrolls.

 **We found a living doll**

* * *

 **Magnus:** I think I'll avoid volume 4 for some time, so please, try to not bring up spoilers about it.


	20. Painting the Town

**Magnus:** Here goes a chapter with a nice fight scene, properly modified to suit the story, enjoy! And remember, Rean and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** I was expecting a few more reviews...

* * *

 **Chapter 20**

 **Painting the Town**

Nobunaga and Blake were thankful that the scroll call happened before reaching their destination, as it allowed them time to calm down after receiving such shocking notice; after the initial shock, they noticed that the scroll call came from Ruby, and while they couldn't think of her being that perceptive, the knowledge that Kanetsugu was with her helped to explain a lot.

"That was convenient." Nobunaga said after taking a calming breath, he expected to have a pair finding something, but this had been a little too much.

"Should we forget about the meeting and meet with Ruby and Kanetsugu?" Blake asked, worried about what this turn of events may mean.

"No, let's proceed as planned; the living doll was most likely found during the atlesian demonstration, which means that the place is pretty much safe, Kanetsugu being there also means that the target is secured." Nobunaga replied, taking comfort in knowing that passing through Kanetsugu would require far too much effort to be a victory for the abyss.

"Yes, you are right; the meeting place should be around the corner, are you ready?" Blake asked as she agreed with her boyfriend, for they needed as much information as possible.

"Of course I'm ready; but if you want to press more of your scent on me…" Nobunaga said as he placed a thin headband with fake bull horns on his head, being none the subtle with his girlfriend about being a little bit more intimate; Blake's answer was to plant a passionate kiss on his lips, all the while allowing him to caress her body.

Over a roof on a nearby building, two guys were watching the dark lovers, one with glaring eyes, and the other… wondering why he allowed himself to be dragged into this…

"Sun, really, this isn't healthy." Neptune tried once again to make his team leader see reason; it had been bad enough when back at Beacon the two hottest girls he had seen demanded him and Sun to stop tailing this particular couple, and while he couldn't understand the reason, he felt hurt at being talked down by pretty girls.

"No, I won't stop; I have to make her see reason, I have to make her understand…" Sun replied, and his teammate and friend worried, he was talking like an obsessed man.

"Look, enough is enough! Lave the lovers be, and accept that you were rejected already!" Neptune began to lecture his friend, but Sun immediately covered his mouth.

"SSSHHHH! Look, they are going into that building, full of…" Sun muttered while signaling the scene; Neptune watched what was happening, but felt compelled to lecture his friend.

"Yeah, what an horrible thing, to dress up as a faunus to please his girl while going to a faunus night club. Sun, really, why don't you hit on the bunny girl we saw at the school; or any other girl to begin with?" Neptune tried again, but this time Sun looked really serious.

"Neptune, that is not a night club… those are members of the White Fang." Sun said as he began to scan the rest of the building, failing to notice the distress on the blue haired guy.

"Wait what?! The terrorists? Let's call the police then!" Neptune said, already taking out his scroll, just to find his wrist being restrained by no other than the monkey faunus.

"We are going in!" Sun said as he began to descend the building, earning the startled stare from Neptune.

"You can't be serious! Oh Oum; you are serious!" Neptune exclaimed while following the blond, repeating himself many times that this was a terrible idea.

Meanwhile at the CIT…

When Weiss and Mitsuhide read the message, they were honestly confused, taking turns between wondering how these two managed to find something so important so fast, and why they even questioned such an event when these two were involved. After a couple of minutes though, they decided to return to their task, which turned to be a bad idea after all.

" _Did you really believe that you'll be allowed to access the databases after what happened before?"_ Weiss' father was looking at the white pair with disdain, while Weiss was trying her best to not scream in horror; either the secretary patched them to her father after saying no repeatedly, or her father noticed and cut in by force.

"Father, is just data for an assignment…" Weiss tried to lie, to misdirect her father's wrath, but it didn't seem to work.

" _An assignment related to the SDC traffic? Next time you are going to tell me that you are forced to work with a faunus for 'team bonding'."_ Mr. Schnee sneered, thankfully failing to notice Weiss involuntary wince.

"Actually, sir, is just an assignment to assess the safety of trade routes of the kingdom; we also have to write an assay about how to improve the safety of the roads, all in order to prevent more loses of resources like the incident of the two tunnels." Mitsuhide added in the fly, remembering Oobleck's lesson about how a simple set of precautions could have saved dozens of lives, and five tons of cargo.

" _And you… you must be my daughter's toy boy; at least you look half decent, no doubt thanks to the Schnee money and my daughter's stubbornness. You better behave appropriately, or else…"_ At Weiss' father thereat, Mitsuhide had to fight the urge to growl; this was Yoshimoto all over again, but with far less charisma.

"Father, I only wanted to present real date about real facts, and not show the same propaganda as the other teams; if you don't want me to access it, just say so, and I'll use the news reports for the assignment." Weiss suddenly said, trying to sound strong, but failing to do so; her father glared at them for a minute, and then send them some data, just a couple of graphics with nothing important on it.

"Thank you, father." Weiss said and then cut the call before her father could say anything more.

"Thank the heavens you want to be different from him." Mitsuhide said while placing a hand on her shoulder, which she took and squeezed for support.

"Can we…" Weiss began to ask for some sort of physical contact, something to regain the lost happiness; Mitsuhide just kissed her, and didn't let go, much to her joy, for she deserved compensation after being subjected to such a horrible person.

Back at the White Fang meeting…

Blake couldn't shake the words of her boyfriend out of her head, not during the standard chack up at the entrance, and not during the first part of the assembly…

" _I understand the need for a symbol, but I question the choice of such; to embrace the Grimm, is to embrace chaos, and peace can't be achieved through it; masks with blank faces could have been used to reflect the lack of value that the racists put in your kin, maks of animal heads would have shown your pride in you heritage, both of this would have been much stronger symbols not associated with chaos and death."_

Blake kept remembering those moments of her past, when she thought she had understood Adam's choice; now she felt like an idiot, finally understanding that at that moment, Adam did not believe in peace, but in destruction and bloodshed; now she understood that she had believed a stupid lie…

"This doesn't look good." Nobunaga's voice returned her to the present, and she managed to see a pair of humans walking alongside the lieutenant.

"Torchwick…" Blake muttered with venom in her voice, thankfully masked by the crowd's voices of hate against the human; she did not recognize the woman though.

"But… his arm…" Nobunaga muttered in distress, clearly remembering taking the arm off from the guy.

"Oh! It's a prosthetic; when someone loses a limb, there is always the chance of replacing it with a mechanical part." Blake quietly replied to Nobunaga, who was impressed and surprised about such information.

It was then that Torchwic began his speech, consisting in appealing to the White Fang cause, denigrating humanity, and turning the attention of all faunus present against the governments and the hunter schools; Nobunaga had to admit that the guy was charismatic, and almost sounded coherent, but he had some fatal flaws, for he still looked down on everyone present, and still gave the air of being far more important than the cause itself, a true megalomaniac.

"Now, if you want to stay within the city, that's fine, but if you really want to fight for what you believe… then this is the arsenal I can provide." Torchwick said as he removed the courtain in the middle of the stage, showing a metal monster that gave some pause to the visionary.

"How in the world de he get that?!" Blake said as quietly as possible, hoping to get the answer from her boyfriend.

"This is Atlas' newest addition in their line against all things scary; thanks to the people I work for, we managed to… get some before they hit the shelves." Torchwick explained, with a not so subtle hint at the metal monster being the fruit of his theft.

"Some?" Nobunaga's quiet question brought dread to the cat faunus, for even she understood the gravity of the situation at hand.

"Now, all new recruits please come forward!" Torchwick called once more, making the mass of people move.

"We need to get out of here." Blake said with distress, not wanting to be found by Torchwick; but Nobunaga simply placed a hand on the small of her back, and gently he motioned her to walk behind some of the largest faunus; she quickly understood the plan, to keep a low profile, and patiently wait until a good opportunity presented itself. It made sense to her to simply obey, after all, every bit of the plan had worked perfectly, even the infiltration, as nobody noticed that her boyfriend was human; perhaps having such deep interaction truly helped to mask his scent, or perhaps Kanetsugu's talismans worked even better than what the monk believed, either way she decided to not doubt the visionary.

On the ventilation ducts, two boys were trying to take a look at what was going on in the meeting, while trying to locate their objectives; it was a terrible plan to Neptune at the beginning, it turned even worse as they saw the mechanized suit being presented.

"Sun, I admit that this is very shady and evil, I admit that this guy you hate has to be really mad to willingly enter this place; but seriously, you are even worse for trying this!" Neptune said to his friend, speaking his discomfort, being squeezed against him was making thigs even worse.

"Shut up! We need to think in a way to get her out of this." Sun said in his well known stubbornness; Neptune didn't know if to feel proud of his courage, or ashamed at his stupidity.

"What do you think you are, a snake crawling in a vent?" Neptune joked, more to calm himself than to bother the blond monkey.

"Really? A reference to…" Whatever Sun was going to say was interrupted by a cracking sound… apparently the ventilation duct was not built to resist two guys in the same section at the same time.

"GGHHAAAA!" Sun and Neptune screamed as they fell into the crowd, who thanks to their faunus heritage, were quick to get out of the way.

"Owwww… that hurts…" Neptune said from below Sun, both of them had landed in a rather awkward position too.

"Who are you?" A gruff voice called to attention, and when Sun raised his head, he did it only to notice every gun in the room pointed to him and his friend.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Sun quickly said as he raised his hands in surrender, not moving from over Neptune though.

"So… you are not a gay-mixed-couple in a poor attempt to hide…" A small faunus girl with deer horns asked with a rather amused smirk, making a few others blush at the idea.

"Wait! We are n…" Neptune tried to save his masculinity with a rebuttal, only to find his mouth covered by Sun's hand.

"Would you believe us if I tell you that we didn't know about you guys being here?" Sun asked, with his most disarming smile, not only not denying the words of the deer faunus, but trying to use them in his favor.

"Blake?" Nobunaga whispered to the catgirl, leaving the lives of the annoying duo on her hands, not because he was testing her, but because he didn't want to upset her with his decision; meanwhile, Blake was having a hard time deciding, for she could see that abandoning these two would provide a flawless opportunity to flee from danger, while potentially getting rid of a greater nuisance… then again, morals and ethics…

"We'll have to get them out." Blake whispered back, making the visionary give a way too serious nod, making Blake feel a little bad for possibly disappointing her boyfriend.

"Wait for my signal, and then make a shot to the electric box." Nobunaga ordered, making Blake tilt her head.

"But we faunus can…" Blake began to question the plan; something refreshing for the visionary, unfortunately there was no time for theatrics.

"It is not the faunus what I want to blind." Nobunaga said as he began to walk toward Roman, who was now walking to the source of the commotion; Blake merely gave an 'oh' as reply, for she immediately understood the plan.

"SO! We have a mixed couple sneaking into the wrong nest, eh? While the usual rules imply that we can't let these two leave and live, why don't we put their survival to a vote? Join or die, I say!" Roman said while getting closer for a better look, earning laughs and cheers from those reunited, he knew that in the end Adam most likely will kill the human though, as he had made it clear that he won't tolerate any more humans in his plans.

"Can we take a moment to consider our options?" Neptune politely asked, while Sun tried in vain to move him and use his body to shield himself from the sociopath, with no success.

"The choice is not… wait a second… YOU! YOU WERE THERE AT THE DOCKS! WITH THE BASTARDS THAT MURDERED MY…" Roman began to yell while pointing his gun-cane to the monkey faunus; the new recruits seemed to fear at first, but then they saw the older members point their weapons to the duo, making them understand that these two most likely participated in the event where many White Fang members were mutilated or outright killed.

"But if you are here… does that mean that he is also…" Roman said slowly, sounding incredibly afraid, then a humming sound became audible, and his instincts kicked in full force; he ducked, barely avoiding losing his head to the dark sword that plagued his nightmares.

"NOW!" Nobunaga shouted, just at the same time that Roman extended his right arm toward the paladin, his hand shot up, showing it's mechanical additions, a long chain united both the hand and the arm, which he used like a grappling hook; then a gunshot was heard, and the lights went out, leaving a bunch of faunus confused, and three humans blinded.

"THROUGH THE WINDOW!" Blake shouted as loud as she could, just at the same time that a humming sound of mechanical nature began to sound, making her fear the worst.

Through the large window of the warehouse, a figure jumped, carrying another, bridal style, being followed by an unnatural mass of darkness, which upon falling revealed to be Nobunaga and Blake; they barely had time to regain their footing and start running, because just a second after landing, the wall of the building was crushed by the large robotic figure.

"This is your entire fault, SARU NO BAKA!" Nobunaga shouted, finally losing his cool for once, bringing a small smile to Blake, for she finally saw the human that others failed to see.

"Can we discuss that later? Like when we are not in mortal danger?" Sun replied, still running at top speed.

"We need a plan, like right now!" Neptune screamed as he saw the robot getting closer.

"We already have a plan. Blake, call the others, we are taking this fight to the junkyard!" Nobunaga shouted to Blake, opting for a route with less potential victims and collateral damage.

"On it!" Blake replied, taking her scroll and calling all the others in a single call.

"Everyone! We are in a hostile situation and require help; we are taking the enemy to the junkyard in downtown Vale." Blake's call was heard in the other six scrolls, earning the startled attention of ther teammates.

Ruby and Kanetsugu reluctantly left their post, not really wanting to leave Penny at the care of his distracted teammates, meanwhile Weiss and Mitsuhide were startled at the sudden interruption of their activities, although they recognized the call as urgent; Yang and Ranmaru simply blasted off from the club and into the bike, ready to aid the visionary and the catgirl.

"Why the junkyard?!" Neptune shouted, trying hard to not sound like a scared girl.

"We are not endangering innocent people!" Blake shouted in response, growing tired of having to deal with the outsiders.

Roman Torchwick had relived the night at the docks on that very second when he evaded that cursed sword, and had reacted by mere instinct when reaching for the safety of the heavy mechanized armor; now, inside the military tech, he felt ready to extract his revenge; his sights were completely on the headhunter, ignoring the other two guys even when they were in the clear for a nice shot, he just wanted to kill the dark knight, so the pain and the nightmares could stop, so he never noticed or cared where they were going, or how far he was going without support.

"There is the junkyard! Neptune, why am I still carrying you?" Sun said as he saw the fence and the large amount of junk.

"You two stop following us!" Nobunaga shouted as he pushed them into a small alley, preventing them from following any further, and also saving them from Roman, who didn't seem to care about these two, at all.

Roman watched his target, how he took the girl on his arms, ready to jump the fence, making him prepare one of the guns to intercept them mid air; but there was no jump, instead they transformed into formless darkness for a fraction of a second, passing through fence undeterred, as if it hadn't been there; Roman only saw red at the attempt from getting away, and blindly charged against the fence, tearing it apart with so much force, that he went to crash into a pile of junk.

"MY LORD!" Ranmaru shouted as he arrived along with Yang, both ready to kill.

"Is everyone all right?" Ruby asked as she entered the zone, accompanied by Kanetsugu, who already had some paper charms ready for use.

"I'm sure that this mishap has to have a very amusing back story, but why can't we have a normal outing for once?" Mitsuhide asked as he and Weiss arrived, looking not pleased at all.

"Tell me it doesn't include a monkey." Yang suddenly said with dread; she had been feeling the need to punch that guy and his friend when they started to harass Blake and Nobunaga, and it got worse when said friend began to hit on her and Ranmaru.

"We'll deal with those later; what is that thing?" Weiss asked as she noticed the robot regaining its footing.

"That is an abomination created by Atlas, a metal beast of war." Kanetsugu replied, surprising Nobunaga with that knowledge.

"We saw them at the demonstration, they have some glaring weaknesses." Ruby said with a smirk, the likes that would give the creeps to any tactician.

"So everyone is here. I'll paint the whole downtown with your blood!" Roman's voice sounded through the in-built speaker.

"Ruby; I'm leaving the battle leadership to you!" Nobunaga said as he recognized being outclassed in knowledge this time, making Ruby's grin turn wild; at the same time, several pods on the back of the machine opened, revealing the missiles.

"Those are heat seeking missiles, we need wide cover protection; BLIZZARD BLADE!" Ruby shouted, leaping back with everyone sans Weiss and Mitsuhide, the later stepped forward with his katana sheathed, and the first stabbed her rapier in the ground, forming a complex glyph beneath her boyfriend, who was immediately covered in faint light.

Dozens of highly explosive missiles were launched at once, just for Mitsuhide to unsheathe his katana at relativistic speeds, creating cutting waves of wind that reached all the missiles at seemingly the same time, destroying then a mere inch after leaving their respective pods; the resulting explosion barely damaged the chassis, but the smoke reduced the visibility for Roman, who had to activate the motion trackers.

"Those laser sights are motion trackers, without them it'll be almost blind; MIDNIGHT DANCERS!" Ruby shouted once more, and this time Blake made a jump toward the robot, only to be intercepted by Nobunaga in his darkness form, the mass of darkness then began to circle the robot, growing in speed until it formed a ring.

Inside the robot, Roman was now panicking, for even when he saw the darkness, the motion trackers didn't detect anything, a couple of shots also went right through without effect; and then Blake began to jump from one point of the ring into another, slashing the robot on her way, damaging a sensor with each strike, but where one Blake jumped, another two jumped back, making it look like the catgirl was attacking several angles at the same time, giving no chance to react; soon Roman found himself unable to use any means of tracking besides his already limited field of vision, which made the robot stumble around for a bit.

"The legs have exposed servos and frail pistons, strike them to immobilize it; WILD FLOWERS!" Yang and Ranmaru immediately jumped into the fry, slashing and smashing everything they saw as frail in the legs of the machine, aiming mostly at the knees.

Roman tried in vain to swat the two assailants with the mechanical arms, but when he almost managed to hit one, he found that the other had jumped to the rescue, which ended with Roman losing both arms of the robot, and then he couldn't move the legs anymore; he suddenly realized that he was now a sitting duck… he hated himself for that thought he the ring dissipated, and he could see the rifle being pointed at him…

"Now for the breaking blow; FINAL FLASH!" Ruby shouted as she had Crescent Rose in scythe form, stabbed into the ground in front of her, her favorite stance for a powerful and well placed shot.

Kanetsugu had been concentrating his power on the paper charms the whole time, charging them so Ruby could unleash all that energy with her high precision weapon; he then made them rotate in front of the cannon, making them glow in harmony with the mechanized weapon, then Ruby pulled the trigger; it was at this moment that the rest of their teammates thanked the heavens for getting out of the way long before she did so, for the shot was not a single overpowered bullet, but a freaking pillar of light, it only lasted a second, though, but that was more than enough to liquefy the entire robot, except the cockpit, which had a heat shielding consisting in ceramic plates… it didn't completely protect the pilot though…

"AAAHHHHHH! MY LEGS!" Roman shouted as he watched the charred mound of flesh that used to be his legs, the shielding had protected his upper body quite well, put that protection didn't extend to his legs, as it wasn't intended for such a massive attack.

"So, who is calling dibs on his head?" Nobunaga asked in true amusement, seemingly unmoved by Roman's screams of agony; Blake, Yang and Ranmaru readied their weapons to go for the kill, one wanted justice, the others blood.

"NEO! NEO! NNNEEEOOO!" Roman screamed at the top of his lungs, slightly confusing the warriors and the white knights; but then another girl fell in front of the agonizing guy, showing a pleasant smile, and rather wicked eyes; both teams were put on edge by the unknown, but when the girl merely bowed, Ranmaru decided to test her, by dashing and slashing in hopes of either cleaving her in two, or leaving an opening to kill the guy that had dared to threaten his lord and lady.

"WHAT IN THE?!" Ranmaru shouted when his sword connected, shattering the two targets with a sound of breaking glass; the warriors immediately formed a defensive circle around the girls trying to prevent a surprise attack, it was unnecessary though, as the sound of a bullhead taking off made them turn, just to watch the girl waving at them with what appeared to be Roman's body tucked in a seat; they had escaped, leaving the teams not too happy about it.

"My killing record… shattered like my heart…" Ranmaru muttered his unintentional pun, making most of the others groan.

"Don't worry cutiepie; I'm sure next time you'll get him." Yang said as she hugged him, truth to be told, she wanted to score another kill herself.

"So, you've found the living doll?" Nobunaga asked, returning to the important things, he will make sure to praise Ruby's performance though, as she had exceeded his expectative.

"Yes, we did; it turns out that Penny is indeed a kokeshi, and no doubt a target of the abyss." Kanetsugu replied, aching to return to Penny's side, and lean his protection.

"Kokeshi?" Both Blake and Weiss asked at the same time, curious about that word, and how they would integrate it in their language.

"It's a long story… oh no! My baby!" Ruby shouted in distress when she tried to make her weapon fold, getting no response.

"What is it, sis?" Yang asked as she got closer, watching her sister showing the beginning of tears.

"The springs, the slider, even the iron sight… they melt!" Ruby said as she let the tears flow; she had been so happy to be able to test their combined strength that she never considered if her weapon could withstand it, and now she had paid the price.

"Yours is not the only one, Ruby…" Blake said as she took a look at Gambol Shroud's blade, which was sporting visible fractures.

"Weapons can be repaired, so you shouldn't cry over it." Mitsuhide said, trying to lift up their mood; Weiss simply nodded, although she knew how crazy her team leader was about her weapon.

"I may not be able to help you in fixed it, but, if you allow it, I'll make tamashiigane for you, so you can make it stronger." Kanetsugu suddenly said, making everyone perk at this.

"Tama-what?" Ruby asked while tilting her head.

"YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE IT?" The rest of team NKRA asked in surprise, making Kanetsugu flinch.

"Yes, well, Lord Kenshin had me learn the art way back when I was starting my duties…" Kanetsugu began to explain, showing a little bit of apprehension.

"Kanetsugu, I think I speak for everyone when I say that our white knights need their weapons made with it." Nobunaga said with urgency, for that would give them quite an advantage, as he has seen that the quality of the steel in Vale was not that good.

"Geez! You make it sound like magic steel or something!" Yang jokingly said, just to fall silent as she noticed the stares of the boys.

Inside the alley, Neptune had seen some of the fight, and decided that it was time to take drastic measures; he had agreed that the guy was truly villainous, and that the girl seemed to be too controlled for it to be a healthy relationship; but now he would take up the task to convince his friend and team leader, that his obsession with them was even more unhealthy.

"After we are done talking, we'll have to apologize to them." Neptune said as an order, not a suggestion, not that Sun could say no while being tied and gagged.

While all of this was happening, a certain combat instructor had been dealing with her own battle; for days she had kept the knowledge to herself, the theories, the speculation, resisting the urge to go to Ozpin to ask his input, or to go directly to Kanetsugu and demand the truth; in the end, she had settled for this course of action, she knew that it could be a coincidence, but it also explained quite a lot, from Kanetsugu's disposition and doctrine, to his immense power, so she went to the vault, talisman in hand, ready to put it to test, while not knowing what to expect.

"You said it would protect me when everything else may fail… will it protect somebody else?" Glynda asked to the talisman in her hand, slowly walking to the machine at the end of the vault, where two pods were visible, one empty, the other with a young woman in undergarments.

"Oh, Autumn Maiden… do you know I'm here? Can you sense what I have in my hand?" Glynda softly asked to the woman, knowing that no answer will come from her; she then pressed the talisman against the glass of the pod, and watched it glow…

"Oh, Oum…" Glynda muttered, not knowing what to feel; the talisman seemed to react to the woman, trying to touch her, as if trying to reach and protect her… then the woman seemed to stir a little bit, scaring Glynda to no end.

"… da… dy…" The woman weakly muttered, and then fell comatose again, for Glynda had removed the talisman in her panic.

"Oum preserve us! This is not science! IT IS MAGIC!" Glynda shouted and then ran to the elevator, full intent on finding Kanetsugu, and get out of him the truth, the truth about the hero of love, and how he came to wield magic.

Meanwhile…

In her dorm room, Cinder Fall was kneeling and panting, just a few seconds ago, she felt as if something inside of her had tried to get out, trying to tear her apart in the process; it had been the most painful experience of her life, almost as if something had tried to take away her very soul…

"That bitch… why can't she accept defeat? Why fighting right now?" Cinder said between pants, remembering that this scenario was a possibility, that at some point the Autumn Maiden may try to wake up and fight her back, especially since she could feel her close.

"It doesn't matter, you won't win; I'll be the one wielding the infinite power, that you never used to its full extent." Cinder said, being thankful to be alone in the dorm, for both of her lackeys were doing her bidding elsewhere.

It left her thinking though, for she never thought that the woman could fight to this extent, leaving her in physical pain, but she soon buried those thoughts, as her nefarious plans will not be stopped… she only hopped that Emerald and Mercury could do their jobs as intended.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Next we'll have more development, and massive deviations from the original series, and more beatings on Mercury.


	21. Magic and Steel

**Magnus:** Here goes a chapter with lots of explanations that will help on future chapters, and also a prank; enjoy! And remember, Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** I used descriptions from the videos from Men at Arms, give them a look.

* * *

 **Chapter 21**

 **Magic and Steel**

Glynda Goodwitch had been on edge since she carried her little experiment, with her mind running wild at the implications, and unfocused by the possible meanings; that's what had her go to the shrine in hopes to find Kanetsugu as fast as possible, and that's why she panicked when she heard that said battle monk had gone to downtown Vale in a date; before the experiment she had entertained the idea of placing the priest under protection, now she had the imperious need to do so… that's why she was here now, at the docks of the school grounds, waiting for the last bullhead to arrive, and demand the truth from her target.

"Oh, Oum! Please be there! Please be fine!" Glynda muttered as the vehicle landed, and as she expected, the very first to come out was Kanetsugu, grateful for touching ground already; it was then that she noticed the first sign that something was wrong, his sleeve was missing, seemingly torn apart in a single move, then Ruby appeared at his side, with her weapon in scythe form…

"What happened to you?!" Glynda shouted as she approached the group, the rest of their teams coming out of the bullhead now.

"Well, despite your medicine working as it is intended, I'm far from accustomed to using these infernal devices." Kanetsugu answered while taking a moment to regain his footing, and take some air; Ruby kindly rubbing his back in hopes of bringing comfort.

"That is not what I'm talking about." Glynda continued, while pointing to his torn sleeve, and Ruby's weapon.

"I can answer that. Kanetsugu had to improvise some bandages in fly, and he didn't value his clothes more than the light wounds of a friend; as for Ruby's weapon, she had a malfunction while helping us to rescue a monkey from a rather large miscreant." Nobunaga replied with all the certainty of an honest guy speaking about a walk in the park.

"You had trouble with Mr. Wukong again? Mr. Oda, Miss Belladonna, if you feel like that he is bothering you too much, we can press the issue and send him and his team back to Haven." Glynda said, already aware of Sun's constant harassment.

"Thank you, Sensei; rest assured that we will press the issue if he tries something again." Blake replied, sounding serious and bothered, thing easily explained by the idea of her night being interrupted by a monkey that hadn't taken the hint about her not being single.

"Very well. Now, I'm certain you all have plans of getting to your dorms and call it a day, and I know that you love to do everything as a team, but I have to ask Kanetsugu to accompany me; I have a few questions that cannot wait until tomorrow to be answered." Glynda demanded, in a tone that left no room to arguments, while conveying the feeling of not being angry or suspicious; imagine her surprise when both teams went into full defense mode…

"We can go to bed later; whatever needs your, and Kanetsugu's attention is more important." Nobunaga immediately said, getting closer to the battle monk, with Blake giving a supportive nod.

"It won't be necessary, there are only a few questions, and is a rather private matter." Glynda tried to press the issue, astonished at the defensive stances of both teams.

"It is no bother, we'll go together; all of us." Ruby said with a certain edge on her voice, almost as if she doubted her identity.

"I insist; it is something I wish to be private." Glynda tried once more, just to find that Ranmaru and Yang had taken positions at the sides of the monk.

"We insist in that not being the case." Weiss firmly stated, with Mitsuhide by her side like a bodyguard.

"But…" Glynda was at a loss, it was as if everyone knew the answers that she wanted to get, and insisted on denying her.

"Sensei, whatever you wish to discuss with me, it will be made known to them, so it is pointless to try to separate us." Kanetsugu finally said, earning a heavy sigh from the combat instructor.

"Very well… let's… let's go to the shrine, at least there it will be private." Glynda finally relented, and accepted that things will go in a way that Ozpin would never approve.

The entire trek to the shrine was spent in silence, both for the lack of students due to the hour, and to the stress between teacher and students; Glynda was beginning to suspect that Kanetsugu knew very well what was what she wanted to ask, while both teams were wary of her motives, for they sensed them as suspicious… Kanetsugu just couldn't comprehend why everyone was on edge though.

"Professor, guys!" Jaune suddenly greeted the whole group, he and Pyrrha were just there, standing at the gates of the old classroom that was the shrine.

"What are you two doing up at this hour? No, wait, I rather not want to know." Glynda suddenly said, trying to stop the teens from saying anything that may disturb her current course of action.

"No need to worry, we just wanted some time to have a private chat; we are going now." Jaune cheerfully replied, while starting to walk to his dorm room.

"Yeah… right in front of the shrine of love…" Pyrrha said with a little bit of uneasiness; she had thoroughly enjoyed their chat, but she questioned the location, and how often it was that specific location the one to spend time…

"Kanetsugu, did you instruct your flock to guard the shrine?" Nobunaga asked, obviously implying that he was not the one to do so.

"No. Why?" Kanetsugu replied, earning a few confused stares.

"Then, did you instruct someone else to do so?" Mitsuhide asked now, rising an eyebrow.

"No… But I don't know if someone decided to do so." Kanetsugu finally replied while opening the shrine; in the background Ruby smiled, knowing the truth, for she had overheard a certain bunny girl giving orders to guard their sacred place, Mitsuhide though, had a deep frown, for he was beginning to compare this level of loyalty to the one inspired by Ieyasu, thought that made him shudder.

Once inside the shrine, both teams and the teacher made themselves comfortable, or as much as they could, for Glynda still kept her eyes on Kanetsugu, who was placing paper charms on the closed doors, thing that in the past would have seem silly, but now, it made her wonder if that made the room even more secure than Ozpin's office; then she saw Ranmaru disconnecting the camera…

"Our conversation will be private now; I'm ready to answer your questions to the best of my capabilities." Kanetsugu stated, not that it made Glynda's task any easier; she didn't want to ask what she needed, not in front of so many, but she just couldn't contain herself, not without going insane. It took her a couple of minutes of calming breaths to final start though.

"Kanetsugu, have you ever entertained the idea, as silly as it is, that your art, your religion, is based on magic and not science?" Glynda asked, slowly and with hesitation, making the girls to look at each other, silently asking if they had heard the same question; the boys simply face palmed.

"Really? Are you asking now if magic is real?" Weiss asked, seemingly taken aback by the question.

"I think she wants Kanetsugu to answer that." Yang was the one to silence the ice princess; Kanetsugu simply shook his head with a kind smile on his face.

"Sensei, I have never thought otherwise." Kanetsugu's answer froze every female in the room, and made Mitsuhide wince.

"WHAT?!" Glynda and the others shouted, finally reacting to the revelation.

"BUT! How?... It can't be… Magic is a spontaneous phenomenon that has no scientific explanation on its source; science is a series of calculations and repetition of steps that leads to a certain effect; the two of them are simply not compatible… and still…" Glynda had beginning to freak out, getting erratic as her mind tried to come to terms with what Kanetsugu had said, then she took out one of the paper charms she managed to make, and looked at it, now knowing that she had made magic through science…

"Nobu, why wasn't I made aware of this?" Blake asked to her boyfriend with a low hiss, and this time even Ranmaru knew that going between the two would be unhealthy for him.

"I did not know if you were ready for such knowledge… I still don't think you are ready though." Nobunaga honestly replied, for of all the possible topics to cover, this was one he didn't think possible.

"Sensei, what you said makes no sense; every day, everywhere, people combine the spontaneous energy of the spark that is life while following the steps of your science, creating things that will outlive both of the sources: Music, painting, sculpting, and even cooking." Kanetsugu said as he created a mote of light, floating on the palm of his hand; Glynda's eyes, as well as the eyes of the others, were glued on that mote, as it was created without the use of dust, and maintained by what they could only assume was aura, but without being a semblance.

"But, if what you say is true, then everyone should be able to do it, to produce magic, and to measure it." Glynda said, noticing how Kanetsugu approached her, and then placed the mote of light on her hand, where it kept floating, illuminating her face as she took a closer look at the small, yet miraculous, phenomenon.

"Everyone can, is only a matter of believing, not knowing. You all believe in your aura, the manifestation of your soul, an inner strength that is as strong as you train it, and as you believe on it; in our land, we call it 'Ki', the energy within, and with the proper training, we learn to harness it to become stronger, and to achieve feats that would be impossible otherwise. What you call magic, is the manifestation of your will in the ambient, the ability to alter your surroundings with your mere thought; in our land we call it 'Chi', the energy without, which can be harnessed with training and meditation, but very few have the will to use it in a meaningful way, because as it is natural, the mind tend to limit what we can perceive as real and possible." Kanetsugu's explanation was as elegant as it was heretic; for years she had believed that science and magic were opposites, that the second was a blessing reserved for an incredible small group of outstanding individuals… like the maidens.

"Then your will must be of divine proportions, to be able to feed this phenomenon without touching it." Glynda said as she tried in vain to comprehend the enormity of what she learned, for it would prove Ozpin wrong, as well as all that they had believed for just so long.

"I'm not feeding it. You are the one who doesn't want it to disappear." Kanetsugu replied with a warm smile, making the combat instructor to go wide eyed, with her mind obviously shattered at the revelation… she was doing magic… and didn't have a notebook at hand to write all about it.

"But… then… does that mean we can do that too?" Ruby asked what the others had on their mind; then she raised her hand to her face, and focused intently on it… making a mote of light appear there, much to her joy, and the surprise of the others.

"Wait a second… Nobu, I recall you using darkness to cover your sword BEFORE I unlocked your aura… was that magic too?" Blake's question made Nobunaga give a startled and nervous laugh… that was going to be quite hard to explain.

"Hold on! YOU REALLY MEAN TO MAKE MAGIC STEEL FOR MY SIS?!" Yang suddenly screamed, holding her head in distress; back at the junkyard she had said it as a joke, finding disturbing the serious faces of the guys, now she understood, although not in a way she wanted.

"Magic steel?" Glynda asked slowly, with her heart making dangerous flips at hearing such an ancient and romantic topic… then she remembered what had forced her to have this conversation.

"Kanetsugu… do you, by chance; know about the hero of love?" Glynda asked, almost afraid of hearing the answer; this time everyone looked at the monk, but the answer came from another one.

"Didn't Ieyasu called him that once?" Ranmaru asked, vaguely remembered the affable lord of Mikawa speaking of the one who bested Nobunaga in a duel… and let him go with a mere friendly warning; on his spot, Mitsuhide covered his face with both hands, and made a sound of despair and hate that sounded more like an angry and dying animal…

"Wait! Kanetsugu is the hero of love?!" Ruby asked, her eyes sparkling with childish glee at finally having her hero at her reach; in the background, Weiss tried to comfort her boyfriend, who seemed close to have a seizure.

"Actually, Lady Aya called me 'Warrior of Love'; I don't remember to ever have reached a title like hero. I don't understand the importance of such title though." Kanetsugu replied, making Ruby wince at hearing that name, and the fondness and respect that was heard on his voice at her mention.

"Ruby, show him your book." Glynda commanded, and the scythe wielder did as told, surprising everyone when she took it from her small bag, and of course, she opened it on the final confrontation; Kanetsugu drank all the words, their meaning, and how close they were to what he knew.

"This… reminds me of one of the tales of Raikoh…" Kanetsugu muttered, remembering only a few bits of the tales, and how the children of the clan loved when lady Aya was telling them.

"Heavens… are you going to tell us that you are descendant of a legend?" Nobunaga asked with no little fear; he already knew that he was pushing his luck way too much by swaying Kanetsugu's judgment; this could mean that in the future he could become the unavoidable final stop on his plans…

"I'll let you know that I have rather humble origins… well, not like a farmer, but no heroes in my family… that I knew of." Kanetsugu replied, making sure to quench any feelings of superiority that may try to surface at being called hero or legend.

"Like every important hero of every truly important fairy tale?" Weiss was the one to question now, being a fan of fairy tales herself, she had picked that fact long ago, as the characters that were princes, kings and whatnot, had a rather bland taste to their performance.

"Like the seasonal maidens!" Ruby shouted in delight, for she also wished to be like one of those; in fact, right now she pictured herself as one, because she pulled off a magic trick, even if it was a minor one.

"I… I need to tell Ozpin about this… he needs to…" Glynda began to ramble, her head feeling light, and her heart running wild; this discovery has way bigger than her, way too big for her alone; this needed Ozpin's wisdom and perhaps Ironwood's input too.

"Sensei… I will have to ask you to withhold everything you've heard here, at least for a couple of days." Nobunaga said in a tone that was demanding, and very authoritative, taking the combat instructor by surprise.

"What? Why?" Glynda asked, still reeling for all the information.

"It is complicated, and if too many people know about this, well, there could be innocent people… hurt." Blake said, trying to placate the teacher, but failing to do so.

"What is going on? What are you trying to do?" Glynda asked now, finally noticing that there was something else going on, perhaps Ozpin was not that far off with his assumptions?

"I'll tell you the same I did to the headmaster: I'll tell you when we have all the answers, but know this, we are doing this for the benefit of all the good people of this kingdom, because our white knights have demanded a happy ending." Nobunaga said, sounding terrifyingly ominous, but making the girls smile with happiness.

"Nobunaga, perhaps we should invite her and the headmaster to watch the making of the tamashiigane, so they can see that we are putting our hearts on what truly is important." Kanetsugu proposed, trying to find a way to convey his intention to the authority of the school, so he could feel less remorse at doing things in the dark; Nobunaga gave it some thought, all while team RWBY discussed loudly the pros and the cons of such action, leaving Glynda to impatiently wait for an answer.

"I see no harm on it, and it maybe softens the headmaster for the time we finally reveal our plan; however, in exchange for this opportunity, I think it is only fair for the faculty to provide the materials required." Nobunaga finally said, trying to gain as much as possible, while giving ground to the battle monk, as he knew that antagonizing him would be heavily detrimental to his plans.

"Will do, what is it that you require?" Glynda immediately said, knowing that all that magic will become obvious when Kanetsugu works; meanwhile Kanetsugu gave sigh, he really didn't want to impose himself with this, but he also knew that gathering the materials himself would be extremely time consuming.

"Well, what I need is…" And thus, Kanetsugu began to list the materials he would use…

Meanwhile…

Emerald was seething, all the time the priest was outside the school, she found that the shrine had been heavily guarded, always by three or more people at the same time, and all of them very uncooperative about giving up information; the last guard had been only two people, unfortunately, she had been busy dealing with a group of boys that were hell bent on getting a date out of her, that had led her to ask what she thought was a heavy price, getting the fabled paper charms that the priest wields… it was to her great surprise and distress to find that she had now four of the mentioned items, and four dates in the near future…

Things went horrible wrong when she finally saw the priest and his entourage entering the shrine, especially when she tried to hear through the doors, again without success; this time she returned to Cinder with her head held high, as at least she had brought with her a small prize, which she promptly handed to Cinder…

"GGAAAHHHHH!" Cinder screamed in pain as a rather powerful electrical shock hit her hand, the paper promptly turned into ashes, and her body fell to the floor, conscious, but in pain.

"Cinder!" Both mercury and Emerald shouted at the same time, and tried to help their leader, just to be pushed away with some hateful flames.

"Who gave you those… things?" Cinder suddenly asked, sounding incredibly angry at the turn of events, as she immediately considered the possibility of being pranked again.

"A group of boys… who wanted a date… and I asked them to…" Emerald couldn't continue, for Cinder's glaring eyes were set on her, as if about to set her on fire; Mercury inching away from her didn't help to reduce the feeling of impending doom… she even considered making a run for the window.

Next day…

Getting the materials had been far more easy than what she thought, and yet she found it funny to find the monk already waiting for them just before dawn; as agreed, she gave the day off to both teams, and made sure to schedule the event for her and the headmaster, who upon hearing the term 'magic steel', was more than eager to assist to such an enigmatic event… unfortunately, they couldn't get rid of the third wheel.

"Clay, hay, iron ore without dust traces, charcoal without dust igniter, an old school anvil and hammer; this sounds rather interesting." Ironwood muttered as he recalled all the materials, making Goodwitch growl at his nosey attitude.

"Seriously, James, if they stop due to your presence, I'll kick you out myself." Glynda warned, knowing that the presence of the general was not previously agreed; as soon as they entere the workshop, they were greeted by the sight of Ozpin being enthralled by what was happening.

Ozpin had watched the whole process, from the hasty making of the smelter, to the placement of the charcoal and minerals, marveling at how meticulous the monk and the scythe wielder were; the he was surprised to find that to ignite the hay, and beginning the process, no dust was used, instead the monk began to hit a small piece of iron with the hammer, until the tip began to glow due to the friction, using it to ignite the fire; up to that point, there had been no magic, just a lot of care, but then both Ruby and Kanetsugu began to chant a prayer in Edo language, and he was able to see their auras mixing together, infusing the mineral as it was melting, it was so mystical, that he never noticed the new arrivals.

"Why is he here?" Nobunaga asked, obviously noticed someone out of place.

"As the leader of the Atlesian academy and army, I'm always in the lookout of new technologies and techniques to increase the efficiency of our protecting duties to mankind; that's why when I heard of steel being forged Edo style, I couldn't resist taking a look at it." Ironwood replied with a smile, not that it helped to reduce the frown of the visionary.

"It is ready." Kanetsugu's voice made everyone turn their attention to the cheerful duo; Nobunaga decided to believe that the general would dismiss the technique due to not being possible to mass produce, as it was the mentality of Atlas.

"Is this the tamashiigane?" Ruby asked with curious eyes, watching the blob of glowing metal coming out from the bottom of the makeshift smelter; being the resident expert in all weapons related stuff, she quickly picked a few differences between the normal steel used, and the slabs of metal that were now cooling in the clay covered ground, she couldn't call it superior, but it was different.

"No, Ruby; this is tamahagane, which, if treated correctly, will make for a fine blade; to make it tamashiigane, we need to give it a heart." Kanetsugu explained, gaining the undivided attention of the three adults in the room.

"How do we do that?" Ruby asked as she helped the monk in collecting and separating the pieces of metal in two groups, using the hardiness of the pieces as reference.

"First, we'll fuse the slabs into two blocks, one will be the hard tamahagane, and the second the sweet tamahagane." Kanetsugu replied, and Ruby immediately understood what to do; soon the forge was on full heat, and after some hammering, they had two blocks of the steel, then Kanetsugu took the sweet one, and divided it into two smaller blocks, then he hammered them into flat and thin rectangles.

"Now, to make kokorogane, the heart of our steel, we need to provide the kokoro, heart, which will channel the tamashii, soul, of the metal; Lord Kenshin told me that using your own essence to make the kokoro, will make for a finely tuned weapon… I do believe different though, as having the essence of the one who loves you most, is a better way channel the strength of love." Kanetsaugu recited while cutting a bit of his hair, placing it on one of the rectangles, instantly becoming ash due to the immense heat, then he made a cut in his hand with a small knife, and allowed some of his blood to fall on the ash and metal, then he nodded to Nobunaga, who approached the other rectangle, and did the same.

"What the hell?" Ironwood muttered, feeling uneasy at watching the ritualistic magic being performed in front of him; Glynda was mute, for her eyes showed her that the metal had changed somehow when both ingredients were mixed with it, generating a resonance of sorts.

"Now we close the kokoro, sealing the essence, and paving the way for the tamashii." Kanetsugu recited as he folded the metal, encasing the ashes of the hair and blood, then he cooled the newly formed blocks with rice wine.

"So, we have the kokorogane, how do we mix it with the tamahagane?" Ruby asked, hoping to not have to melt such a precious thing again; in her seat, Blake was aching to touch the kokorogane made by her boyfriend; that had looked so dark and mystical…

"Now, we make the tamahagane embrace the kokorogane, once this is done, and despite not being mixed, both will become one, and then will become tamashiigane." Kanetsugu explained, and then Ruby proceeded to heat, split, and then hammer the tamahagane, forming two sheets, which then were used to encase the smaller pieces of the kokorogane. When they were cooled with the rice wine, both pieces of metal had gained colors of their own, one was like pure silver, the other was polished black.

"Unfortunately, this is everything I can do; the rest of the smiting will fall upon you, my love." Kanetsugu sweetly said, and Ruby smiled like a crazy child with a super expensive gift; she was going to enjoy playing with such material… and remake Gambol Shroud too.

"That was… something." Ironwood said to Ozpin; both had left the workshop when Ruby began to hammer down the metal to make the parts of the weapons, believing that they had seen the most important parts.

"That steel… there is nothing to compare it, at least not in modern techniques; it certainly is special" Ozpin replied, knowing very well there was magic in the metal, just not the kind he was used to deal with.

"I wouldn't go that far, Oz; I mean, it is a cleaver technique, but is more a scientific discovery that anything else. The hardened steel is sharper, but brittle; by combining it with a bed of soft steel, the hardened bit will have an easier time dealing with the impact and stress. Make no mistake though, I'll certainly put the research team to seek for a way to implement this technique in the mass produced steel we use." Ironwood explained his point of view, missing the important parts of the ritual; Ozpin could only shook his head at the obliviousness of the general, while being thankful for it, he would have to talk with the monk though, for that was magic, and magic he was not aware of.

Glynda had remained behind, watching the whole process of the making of the weapons, partially believing it would go just like usual, with the metal being smelted and placed into molds to make the separate parts; instead, Ruby had taken to the hammer and the anvil, going te extra mile of hammering each individual part, leaving the finished pieces to Kanetsugu, who was engraving kanji into them… adding layers of magic on the already magical steel.

"Steel molded like clay will break like clay, but steel molded by strength will prevail in the heat of battle, against the tide of time." Kanetsugu explained as he saw the questioning eyes of the female members in the room.

"That actually explains a lot…" Weiss said as she looked at Myrtenaster, which was a handcrafted weapon, and not made with prefabricated parts, just like Winter's weapon; both masterpieces had prevailed under heavy abuse that would have broken anything else.

"And the runes?" Glynda asked, her throat dry, and mind numbed; she even forgot that they were called by another name.

"My love for Ruby compels me to cover her weapon with at least a thousand blessings, so she never lacks protection." Kanetsugu said with a warm voice, imprinting even more aura on each kanji, leaving Glynda amazed, and Ruby with a massive blush.

"Don't worry, my love; I'll make sure to inscribe your weapon as well." Nobunaga said to a staring Blake, who was wondering if she'll get the same type of gift… of course Nobunaga never clarified that Gambol Shroud would carry a thousand curses instead, so no enemy of hers would escape.

It took several hours, but by dusk, both weapons had been completed, reborn with new bodies, and sporting dormant souls of their own; Ruby gave a few swings to Crescent Rose, feeling the abnormal change of weight and balance, and still, it reacted just as she wanted it, not like a part of her body, but as an entity delighted to be on her hand, the transformation between scythe and rifle was even smoother, less forceful, the magazine, while foreign to the weapon, felt perfectly secured in its place, and looking through the scope, Ruby could see the kanji faintly glowing, somehow clearing her line of sight for a clearer shot… as if Kanetsugu himself was using his magic to clear her view.

"I can feel your love in it… I love it." Ruby said to Kanetsugu, while hugging Crescent Rose like a newborn baby.

Meanwhile, Blake tested Gambol Shroud, feeling it lighter, easier to grasp, but with a natural aggression in the edge, like a wild beast full intent on murdering anything remotely threatening to its mate; even in an inanimate object, she could feel how overprotective her boyfriend was; changing the small blade into a gun was faster than before, and the bladed sheath seemed even more sturdy, capable of being used as a shield, not that she'll ever allow that to happen.

"This is beyond perfect… I'm never going to lose it." Blake said while looking into Nobunaga's eyes, although she knew that most of the work was done by both Ruby and Kanetsugu.

Glynda for her part decided to leave the youngster, and find somewhere to rest; she couldn't shake the sound, the ringing, the singing of the blades; on one hand, she couldn't wait to see them in action, showing up the extent of the magic in them… on the other, she feared for the safety of the other students, as she doubted that normal means could stop those edges from taking away a limb, or even a life.

While all of this was happening, certain evildoers were talking about their own progress…

"So what have we learned so far?" Cinder asked, knowing that the cafeteria was a very safe place to hold this conversation, as they won't say anything really incriminatory.

"I didn't have as much luck as I wanted; I can't get into the shrine, and the cultists are not talkative. However, I managed to learn some useful things; the girl with silver eyes, Ruby Rose, is from Patch Island, and is engaged to the priest of Edo; the poor guy seems to have trouble with controlling his hormones, because the girl is still too childish to engage in juicy action; another thing of interest, is that Vale's council doesn't particularly like the cult of love, you know, because they love faunus too." Emerald reported, happy to be of use to Cinder, who frowned upon hearing the name of the girl, but didn't comment on it.

"We can certainly use that; maybe you can help the priest to find some 'relief', which would help you greatly in gaining entrance to the shrine." Cinder stated with a no so subtle wink, one that made the thief smirk, for she believed to be able to seduce the priest, if only she could find him alone.

"What about you, Mercury?" Cinder asked to the assassin, who snorted at remembering what he had learned.

"Well, your dark knight loves to be in control, as he seems to direct every move of his girlfriend; I don't blame him though, she looks hot. As for the champion, well, tomorrow I'll challenge her to get a taste of her skill, nothing serious, just want to confirm something, but she also has a veritable weakness. Did you see what happened when I tried to talk to her?" Mercury reported, mentioning a small event that had happened just a couple of minutes ago; he had tried to approach Pyrrha, offering a bit of his plate of pork chop, which in turn made the Mistral Champion run away with a green face, closely followed by her toy boy, meaning that she couldn't tolerate that particular meat.

"I must admit that was interesting, and even fun to watch, but we'll need more to work with; if possible, taste the dark knight and the priest too, I have a bad feeling about them." Cinder stated, just to go quiet when a random student approached them with a small tray with what appeared to be sauces.

"Here, we are giving samples of our new Edo sauces; must warn you though, these are spicy." The girl said while leaving a small vase with a yellowish soft paste on it; not knowing how to deal with such a friendly gesture, each smeared a little bit of bread with the paste, and gave a tentative bite, full expecting it to be another prank.

"Holy shit! It IS hot!" Emerald said with a reddened face, not knowing if it was a prank or not, for they had been warned about it being spicy; meanwhile, Mercury had fell to the floor, where he kicked and struggled, sweating profusely through a reddened skin, in silent screams of pain and misery, for he just couldn't deal with the level of heat. Cinder smiled, widely, she had loved it and now was placed the stuff over all her food, and she made a mental note to get the recipe before destroying the kingdom.

Behind a pillar, someone took more notes, as this particular group was becoming something to worry about.

* * *

 **Magnus:** I don't think I'll ever get tired of torturing these guys... next time we'll have more Mercury beating, by Kanetsugu!


	22. Extracurricular

**Magnus:** A new chapter, with a set up for a later trap, I also including an extra beating for mercury, so enjoy! And Remember: Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** I was about to place the lyrics of the song used, but then decided to simply place the name, so you can search for it, after all, is one of Kanetsugu's songs.

* * *

 **Chapter 22**

 **Extracurricular**

Emerald, as a thief and street survivor, was proud of her self taught set of skills; many had called her burglar, others, daredevil, but she knew herself better, as a thief of opportunity; always researching the target, observing behavior, flaws and strengths, as well as being careful of observers, that's why she knew why Cinder was wary of the dark knight and the priest. The first was a charismatic fellow, a natural leader and quick learner, making him a dangerous enemy if left alive and unchecked after their mission was done, or an invaluable ally if recruited before the end; the second though, was something worrisome, for rumors were wild an unfocused, often speaking of unmatched skill and strength in battle, other times, about miracles being performed by his mere presence, and the most outlandish of them all, being the fabled hero of love himself… that had given Cinder pause, and nightmares.

"Hey, Emerald, did you see that?" Mercury asked to the thief, who slightly nodded, for she had noticed what had caught the attention of the murderer.

"Yes, she redirected that attack, but only slightly… gravity or magnetism?" Emerald asked back, in a hushed voice, still seeing the uncanny battle between the Mistral champion and the members of team CRDL.

"I believe it's the second, but must check it myself." Mercury replied; knowing that his orders were to study the strongest students first, then dispatch the targets that Cinder would choose.

"The teacher may not let you do so right away, why don't you try your luck with one of the tribals instead?" Emerald proposed eager to study her target, and beginning to form a plan to approach him.

"And with that, the match is over." The combat instructor declared as Pyrrha finished manhandling the four guys, not even showing signs of being tired, or a single scratch.

"I know it will be hard to match, but we have time for one more spar; are there any volunteers?" Glynda asked, looking intently at Ruby and Blake, but both seemed reticent to show off their newly born weapons.

"Actually, I do volunteer." Mercury said while raising his hand; he was then prompted to step into the arena, but not before Emerald had whispered something to his ear.

"Mister Black, is it? Is there someone you wish to challenge?" The combat instructor asked while looking at the list of students currently in class, deciding between choosing herself or let fate decide.

"Actually, I wish to challenge… him." Mercury said while pointing his finger at Kanetsugu, earning glares and even growls from the members of the cult.

"Are you sure? I don't think that's a good idea." Glynda said, not wanting to see her stage painted in blood, either by the cultists, or a mishap in Kanetsugu's performance… she still had recurrent dreams about the Fafnir being obliterated, and Kanetsugu doing magic…

"I know he is a priest, pacifist and all that, but I don't think there is anything preventing me or him to have a spar." Mercury said, trying to play nice with his words; in her seat, Emerald had noticed the priest glancing at the leader of his team, who merely shrugged, as if not caring about his decision.

"If he really wants to have a spar with me, I see no reason to deny him; I accept the challenge." Kanetsugu politely replied, and then walked to the stage, brandishing his sword, but not his famous paper charms.

"Nice hat; you sure you can fight with it?" Mercury asked, trying to sound fun, while testing the patience of the monk.

"It is a helmet; it is supposed to remain secured to the head at all times." Kanetsugu calmly replied while bowing, making Emerald frown; someone so calm either had a lot of confidence, or a lot of skill.

It was then that Glynda called the match to begin, action followed by Mercury calmly assuming a relaxed combat stance, but Kanetsugu seemingly didn't do so, or at least, that is what Mercury thought, unaware of the standard stance of the monk; Mercury then gave a tentative nod to the monk, as if warning him of his intention to start the fight, but that didn't change the posture of the warrior, who merely watched his movements, then the first kick came.

"What the?" Emerald muttered as she watched Kanetsugu dodging to the side with a half step, with an agility that made Mercury look as if he had moved in slow motion; a simple push had the assassin hitting the floor.

"That isn't going to work…" Emerald hear someone muttering, followed by sniggering from what she assumed were the mass of cultists, who seemed to know about the true combat capabilities of the priest; in the stage, Mercury had raised to his feet, with a face that showed confusion, and then he assumed a more stiff position, signaling that he was taking the match more seriously.

"Oh no." Emerald muttered in distress at seeing the battle; Mercury had begun to increase the speed of his assault, trying to bring a reaction from the monk; but Kanetsugu evaded, and sometimes blocked, with no trouble, his serene face and relaxed posture remained unchanged; suddenly Mercury jumped toward the monk for a double axe kick, trying to surprise the monk with the secondary shot… only for Kanetsugu to step into his move with a mild tackle, interrupting his momentum, and throwing him back.

Muffled laughter alerted Emerald of the truth, the priest was far more skilled that what was being shown; that in itself wasn't the problem, the problem is that neither her nor Mercury were learning anything, because the monk wasn't even using his sword, so there was no information on his combat style, nor the nature of his semblance; as the battle continued, it became obvious that without a push, there wouldn't be anything to learn, thing that both knew would annoy Cinder to no end.

"Ok, I admit you are good; now let see how you deal with a real fight." Mercury said, hoping to get the monk to change his stance, but he didn't, much to his annoyance; then he decided to attempt a real assault on Kanetsugu, but with restrain enough to not kill him by accident.

Emerald gasped in horror when she recognized Mercury's assault; the assassin had begun to run against Kanetsugu, just to jump over him while kicking the dust chambers on his boots, shooting down at the monk, who quickly shielded himself with his sword, then Mercury flipped and kicked again, repeatedly, but Kanetsugu leaped back, allowing Mercury to land with a rapid spin, kicking and shooting all the way; then he jumped at the monk in a drop kick, hitting the sword, and shooting to send him back skidding a little bit; Kanetsugu managed to block everything, but then he noticed that all the wild shots had not hit the force field, instead they were now forming a tornado around him.

"And this is how it ends." Mercury said with all the arrogance of a jubilant winner, making all the shots rain on the monk, creating a massive explosion, and raising a large cloud of smoke.

"He should have taken this more seriously." Mercury said to the audience, which was silent, and with jaws dropped; Mercury knew that the cultists would want retribution for this, but at least he had proven his point, that the priest was a full defensive player, who had yet to see real combat…

"Ahem!" Glynda cleared her throat to gain the attention of the foreigner, who upon turning to face her, found her pointing to the screen, were the aura bars were being shown… with Kanetsugu's still being full…

"The fuck?!" Mercury couldn't help but to shout his surprise, for there was no way the priest could have taken all that punishment without damage.

"I'm afraid I underestimated you; for that, you have my apologies." Kanetsugu's voice sounded from the cloud, which then began to dissipate, showing that the monk was perfectly fine, kneeling down with his sword stabbed in the ground, and with large rectangles of translucent light orbiting around him, showing how he survived the assault.

 _ **=Start song: "Ai to Gi no Arashi!" By Masaya Takatsuka=**_

"Allow me to rectify the disservice I have done to you." Kanetsugu added, while taking a bunch of paper charms from below his robe, all of them glowing with different colors.

In her seat, Emerald's eyes bulged out, becoming aware that defensively, the monk had surpassed the rumors, for he showed more than enough power to negate an assault that would have ended an official match with no problem, and now, she feared what would become of her partner, for she didn't know if the monk was a full defensive fighter, or if he could go in the offensive with the same level; in his seat, Nobunaga began to take cover behind a book, not wanting to see the same power that one day had him biting the dust, not wanting to remember that particular defeat.

"Bring it…" Mercury tried to say, but soon had to roll out of the way of three paper charms that flew at him with surprising speed; he was hit by another three though, and found himself being lifted off the ground in curve that wouldn't be possible by mere force, he would have give it a thought about that being telekinesis, if not for the fact that he was being electrocuted all the way up.

"GAH!" Mercury cried in pain as he met the other three paper charms, keeping him in the air while flowing with electricity; Emerald watched the monk intently, trying to understand his moves and technique, trying to discern his semblance; the priest had been kneeling down all the time, seemingly guiding the pieces of paper with his mind by pointing with the finger, like someone with telekinesis would do, but the activation of the dust charged charms didn't fit with that, as he seemed to do so by muttering something, as his moving lips seemed to indicate.

"UGH!" Mercury grunted as he was next assaulted by several paper charms that repeatedly hit his body from all directions, making him flail around aimlessly; Emerald could tell that the assassin no longer could tell up from down in his current state, and how fast his aura bar was being depleted only signaled to this being overkill, if the lack of strain in the face of the priest was any indication.

"It is over." Kanetsugu said with a calm voice; however, it was powerful enough to be heard by everyone. Everyone saw the battle monk close his hand in the shape of a fist, action followed by the rest of the paper charms to glue themselves to the other boy, then he moved his fist like a punch, and the charms detonated in a rather spectacular show of light and sound; in her seat, Yang realized it would take the entire set of rounds of her weapon to match such brutality.

 _ **=End of the song=**_

The buzzing sound of the match being over sounded just at the same time Mercury's body hit the floor; Kanetsugu simply sheathed his sword, and then bowed to Mercury and the teacher, leaving for his seat. Emerald silently watched it all, from the swooning of the girl of silver eyes, to the murmurs of pride and cheer from the cultists, giving shape to the picture in front of her; the priest had his reputation well earned, and while she couldn't join the claim of him being the hero of love, she could say with all honesty that fighting him head on was positively unwise; then her thoughts made her form a smirk, for she now believed that she could seduce him, after all, the strong always had a desire for a proactive partner.

With the class being over, teams RWBY and NKRA left the arena, together, in an uncharacteristic silence; Ruby still beamed at her boyfriend and worshiped her, as if ready to jump in his arms and start kissing him, but the rest of the boys and girls seemed in deep thought… until Nobunaga decided to break the silence after taking a turn in one of the corridors.

"Kanetsugu, didn't you agree to show no more than half of your true strength?" Nobunaga asked in a worried tone, knowing that controlling the battle monk was impossible, but remembering that he had sworn to abide by his plan.

"I did." Kanetsugu replied, sounding honest and not guilty, earning a few frown from his teammates.

"Then why did you go all out back there?" Mitsuhide asked, making Weiss and Blake shudder at the thought of being in the middle of that onslaught, knowing that if that had lasted just a little bit longer, the guy would have become a bloody smear in the floor.

"I didn't." Kanetsugu's answer made everyone stop; the girls couldn't picture him showing even more power, and the guys showing no little fear at such idea.

"Do you mean to tell me that back then… you only used half of your strength?" Nobunaga asked with a pale face.

"Back when?" Blake asked, not understanding the fear on her boyfriend; however, Yang had an idea of what happened for this scene to take place.

"There was a time when the Oda army tried to take down the Uesugi clan." Ranmaru slowly said, showing regret at bringing back that memory.

"What happened?" Weiss asked with worry, for she truly believed that both clans had to be friendly to each other during their unification war.

"Kanetsugu happened." Mitsuhide bluntly said, obviously not wanting to dwell on the memory of their impressive loss.

"Are you sure you are not some incarnation of an Edo god, or something like that?" Yang asked, although without her usual mocking tone.

"I am not Lord Kenshin." Kanetsugu vehemently said, smiling at his memories about serving his lord; the members of team RWBY suddenly looked at Nobunaga for an explanation, as Kanetsugu's wording had let them with an idea they weren't comfortable with.

"Self proclaimed avatar of Bishamon, the god of war; I'll be honest, I don't think he was stronger than Kanetsugu." Nobunaga replied, making the girls turn their heads to the monk again; Kanetsugu simply shook his head, not liking being compared to divine beings.

"Seriously, I'm not…" Whatever the battle monk was trying to say was interrupted by the sound of his scroll, which he gave to Ruby to deal with.

"Oh, it seems that the auction of your items is over; the people of the auction house want you to go over and make the monetary transaction to your account." Ruby reported with her usual smile, but then frowned.

"Weiss, this only happens when a transaction is over a certain amount of lien, right?" Ruby suddenly asked, directing the question to the one likely to know all about money and how it moved.

"Well, yes. Transactions over a million lien require a personal involvement, as stipulated in trans-kingdom treatise of commerce… but what was auctioned to have such an enormous amount of money involved?" Weiss replied, while throwing in her own question; she was aware that the Edo guys all had some valuable treasure with them that they had traded for much needed money, like Nobunaga's and Mitsuhide's Edo coins, Ranmaru's handmade Edo hair comb, and a few other minor things that had net some respectable amount of lien; but Kanetsugu, being a monk, had not said anything about what treasure he had carried.

"Just a couple of statuettes; I had thought of trading their weight in gold, but Glynda-sensei suggested that I had them valued by an appraiser… then I was told that an auction would get me better coin… and Ruby said that with more coin I could invest in having a better shrine." Kanetsugu explained, a little bit bashful about the whole ordeal, for he felt totally out of place.

"Kanetsugu, those were golden idols; even I know that stuff is expensive!" Ruby interjected, gaining the attention of the others.

"You… auctioned Edo idols made of gold?" Blake slowly asked, already seeing the black markets boiling with shady people trying to outbid each other.

"Maybe we should accompany you to this place, and keep secret what you did and how much you got from it." Nobunaga proposed, and everyone nodded; then he made a signal, making everyone act relaxed, but highly alert.

"Hey there! I was looking for you; Kanetsugu, is it? I'm Emerald, teammate of the guy who challenged you." Emerald greeted as she got closer smiling and trying hard to convey good intentions.

"Yes, that's me; is there something you need?" Kanetsugu asked with his usual pleasant smile; Ranmaru instantly patted and nodded to Nobunaga, for he recognized her body language as fake; they didn't do anything else though.

"Just wanted to apologize for my teammate's behavior; it is true that we are new to all this Edo cultural thing, but he should have bowed when the spar started, and his taunts were uncalled for." Emerald replied; striking a pose that while not directly suggestive, would give the priest a better look at her curves… she didn't fail to notice that the eyes of the monk were on hers, and not roaming her body as she is used to.

"There is no need for that, if anything I should be the one apologizing, as I miscalculated his capabilities again; I hope we can have a friendly spar in a more even ground next time." Kanetsugu replied, and then turned his eyes to Ruby, who seemed eager to fill his entire visual field; it seemed that the red caped girl had caught on the intentions of the mint haired girl.

"You know, if you are free, I could introduce you to the other members of my team; the other two girls will surely love to threat you to something nice to eat, as I'm sure you haven't tasted some of Mistral's delicacies." Emerald suggested, making Yang and Ranmaru to narrow their eyes, for they were sure she wasn't talking about pastries.

"Maybe another time, we have an important appointment, like right now; see you later!" Ruby suddenly interrupted, while pushing the battle monk away from the girl, having everyone else following; Emerald decided to not interrupt her, or even retort that she was only inviting Kanetsugu.

"Ah! A jealous type; how convenient." Emerald muttered to herself, smirking at the information obtained.

"Doing something better than helping me walk?" Mercury said as he approached her, walking slowly, and holding his sides in obvious pain.

"Yes; learning is so much fun." Emerald replied with a wicked grin, and then she walked toward the place where Cinder was, leaving Mercury to fend for himself.

A couple of hours later…

Getting to the auction house was not that hard, nor was getting to speak to the right person, dealing with the aftermath of the paperwork what had some of the youngsters with a dry throat, and bulging eyes…

"So… am I rich?" Kanetsugu tentatively asked, trying to either break the awkward silence, or to understand his current situation.

"Rich? You aren't just rich!" Blake almost shouted, voicing the thoughts of others too; they had expected this to be a misunderstanding, or having the minimum amount to require this level of interaction, not this.

"Weiss… how rich is my boyfriend?" Ruby asked, holding her head in distress; she had seen the numbers herself, but trying to remember them only made her feel worse.

"Enough to buy Patch Island… twice." Weiss replied with a faraway look; her father was admittedly wealthier than Kanetsugu, but the amount of money earned still baffled her; she tried to erase from her mind the picture she imagined, of some fat and obscenely rich Mistral Kingpin licking the idols in his private chamber.

Ruby cried at the vision of the near future, having to use a very large stick to push away a rather large number of slobbering females wanting to stick to her boyfriend like parasites, trying to suck away all his money, by any means necessary.

"Well, if it is that much, then we can afford a cozy home for our family, right?" Kanetsugu said in a futile attempt cheer the scythe wielder, who only cried more, remembering that she already was having trouble with an already sizeable contingent of girls wanting to get closer to the battle monk; being kind, caring, and good looking and powerful had been incentive enough for many to try to fight her… adding such quantities of money only made her nightmares worse.

"You know, I think we should have this as a secret, for safety." Yang proposed, understanding her sister's distress; Ruby had admitted that she felt insecure due to her childish body, and how she lacked skills in the love department, this only worsened her situation.

"AGREED!" Ruby instantly shouted, earning the stares of the others, and a kind pat on her head by Kanetsugu.

Ranmaru had been silent the entire time, not for the lack of comments to say, but because he had managed to notice something that had him seething; a surprisingly short woman, looking almost like a teen, had been walking through the other side of the street, her sway on her walk was that of a experienced woman, one with skill and more importantly, ill earned money, her multicolored hair was the defining factor though, and as she got closer, Ranmaru knew he had on his sights a trophy he just had to claim… now he only needed the permission to take it, from her shoulders.

"My lord." Ranmaru almost whispered as he touched Nobunaga's shoulder, accidentally gaining the attention of both Blake and Yang.

"What is it, Ranmaru?" Nobunaga asked back, recognizing Ranmaru's change in posture and demeanor, change noticed by the other two; Ranmaru simply tilted his head on the appropriate direction, guiding the three sets of eyes, who quickly caught on what was going on.

"Oh yes, oh yes! Please say yes!" Yang quietly joined the conversation, with Ranmaru already reaching for his nodachi; Nobunaga simply raised his hand, but slowly, meaning that there was a chance for bloodshed, but only if he didn't get what he wants.

Neo was a woman that took infinite delight in spending her money in the most frivolous and expensive things, as such, she had set up her standards in both life style and working conditions, that's why she was a cat burglar and not an ordinary thief or terrorist; not only she liked to win large quantities of money, she also loved to be able to walk the streets and enter the stores like a rich girl. Working for Torchwick had shown to have it dose of peril, as she attested when the guy lost his legs on that uncalled stunt… she still believed that avoiding the confrontation would have been wiser; alas, the money was good, and she had found a wonderful set of jewelry to spend it on… imagine her surprise when some of the lien cards were rejected by the scanner…

"I'm sorry, but it seems that these are either damaged, or false; if I was you, I would send these to the police, along the name of the person or institution that gave them to you." The shop keper said to a now crying Neo, who knew that going to the police was out of question, as it was keeping the beautiful jewelry; she began to plot revenge against her current employer, when someone else spoke.

"Isn't it horrible when someone betrays your trust?" The rather dark voice had Neo frozen in place; she recognized it, because she had heard it during that adventure in the junkyard.

"The guy that gave her those must be an awful miscreant." The female voice had her slowly turning around, confirming her fears, and leaving her without options; these were the people that fought that night, and this was her favorite jewelry on all Vale, she just couldn't start a fight, or even try to run, as she noticed the two girls by the entrance, obviously guarding the exit.

"So, my beloved Belladonna, are you ready to choose a ring, so you can show the world you are already mine?" Nobunaga dramatically asked, guiding Blake to the counter, where the display for engagement rings was being shown, catching immediately the attention of the burglar, for she was certain they had recognized her, after all, she was not wearing any disguise, as those were meant for work, and not her civilian life.

"Yes, my beloved; I'm ready to show off how you have branded me as yours." Blake replied, saying way too much, while standing by Neo's side.

"Mister Shopkeeper, can I convince you to accept these as trade for your fine craft?" Nobunaga asked while showing a curious looking coin; Neo had to make a double take at what she was seeing, it was an Edo coin, in perfect condition.

"Of course! And while your lady chooses, why don't you take a look at the watches, or necklaces?" The shop keeper happily said after checking the coin, being way too happy at it being real; that gave the burglar pause, here was an extremely rich guy, spending money, real money, money that would feel better on her hands… she idly wondered if he would take concubine.

"I see you have fine taste, how did you end up working for someone who doesn't even pay?" Nobunaga then talked directly to Neo, who winced at such approach; she then shrugged, and made puppy eyes, as if asking for forgiveness, knowing that her involvement so far had done almost nothing to earn aggression.

"She doesn't talk, I think she is mute, but always carry good money; I think this is the first time someone pays her with counterfeited lien." The shopkeeper said in behalf of Neo, who happily nodded at his intervention, but then raised two fingers, meaning that this wasn't the first time.

"I see, too bad you don't work for me, I always reward those who follow my lead, handsomely." Nobunaga left the bait out, making Neo go eye wide; she knew what he was asking, to betray Torchwick, that in itself could be very bad for her business, as betraying a contractor is always a sure way to lose potential business partners, on the other hand, she needed to make it clear, that she would not tolerate being fooled like this.

"I think I'll take this." Blake suddenly said, sporting a ring on her finger, it was a simple gold band with an agathe.

"My lord! My lord!" The sudden call of the two girls gained everyone's attention, especially when they showed a pair of chokers with platinum medals in the shape of a beowolf's head, like matching dog collars.

"Of course; anything to make my people happy." Nobunaga declared, and then turned to the shopkeeper, who asked for two Edo coins to pay for it all; Neo's jaw dropped to the floor when she saw the guy opening a large pouch, obviously filled with the valuable coins. After paying up for the jewelry, he invited Neo to walk outside to talk, thing that she couldn't help but to agree to.

"I know what you are thinking, I know that betraying an employer could be the end of your business, so I'm not going to ask you to do so; instead, I intend to buy information from you." Nobunaga said after they had entered the alley, waving an Edo coin in front of the burglar, who still ached to get her hands on the jewelry that had caught her eyes.

"One Edo coin for every piece of information that can be proved right." Nobunaga offered, making Neo go wary, that sounded really good, but at the same time, risky as hell; she had yet to meet Torchwick's employer, but she already knew that person mean serious business.

"Let's start with something really simple, something that would bring you no harm; let's exchange scroll numbers." Nobunaga added, and Neo agreed, if only to see how honest he was… she doubted that this would see her rich, but at least won't make things worse; after exchanging numbers, she received a single message from the visionary, a simple 'hello'.

"See? It wasn't that hard; and you earned your very first coin." Nobunaga said, handing a coin to the baffled burglar, who stared at it, salivating like a hungry animal.

"Now, if you want more coins, feel free to send me information that can be verified; just remember, I'll pay you only after checking the information." Nobunaga said, and then waved good bye, leaving the burglar to her thoughts.

"Do you think she'll fall for it?" Yang asked, feeling warm inside after seeing one of the enemies now about to switch sides; feeling her new dog collar on her neck also helped her to feel good.

"Didn't you see her eyes? She not only took the bait, she swallowed it all." Ranmaru replied, sounding truly proud of his lord's craftiness.

"Let's be queit about this for a while, we still need to confirm her loyalty." Nobunaga said as they joined the others, who still were bickering about Kentsugu's new situation.

At Beacon academy…

Glynda Goodwitch had been distraught since the day Kanetsugu confirmed his use of magic, since the day she was all but confirmed on her suspicions about him being a descendant of the hero of love; she had been unable to sleep, for her dreams kept conjuring the images of his most outstanding feats, like slaying the Fafnir, forging the magic steel, and now, his incredible show of restrain will be added, for she knew that Mercury had survived only because the priest had wished so.

"Miss Goodwitch?" Ozpin softly asked to his deputy, truly worried for her health, because she was showing the beginnings of bags under her eyes.

"Oh? Sorry, I was just… thinking." Glynda replied, not showing any less worry, keeping things secret was taking a heavy toll of her.

"About Kanetsugu, I suppose." Ozpin added, looking pleased when the combat instructor looked at him with distraught eyes.

"You have been touching that large paper charm, more than usual; is it worry? Or do I have to worry about you having deeper feelings for him?" Ozpin asked, half joking about the issue.

"OZPIN! I'll never!" Glynda began to rant, flustered about being mixed in such kind of affair.

"I was just kidding. But seriously, what is worrying you?" Ozpin said, placating the teacher, but not relieving her stress.

"Ozpin… what do you think of Kanetsugu's magic?" Glynda asked now, caressing the paper charm with more intensity.

"It is outstanding; different to what we knew, but definitively an asset to the kingdom. Once he decides to share this technique with the rest of the smiths, our hunters will be much better armed for their duties. Of course, I'm not going to press the issue, as I can understand this being part of his religious order." Ozpin replied, knowing that this will help greatly in convincing the council in accepting his religion even sooner; Glynda just looked even less pleased.

"Ozpin… how do you think his magic will interact with… Autumn?" Glynda asked, slowly and with fear; knowing that what she did behind his back could have some serious repercussions.

"Glynda… is there something you need to tell me?" Ozpin asked with a rarely seen seriousness, as if he feared the answer itself.

That night, undisclosed location…

"OUCH! Careful!" Roman shouted in pain, the stumps that once were his legs were looking better, but they still hurt like hell.

"Sorry." Foxy replied, sounding worried for his state; she had taken to clean his wounds every day, for she had no trust on anyone else.

"I'm the one sorry, I shouldn't yell at you." Roman answered, looking fondly at the faunus; now, without her mask, he couldn't help but to feel wrong, because he was falling for her, and her for him.

The door of theor room was suddenly opened violently, forcing the faunus to don the mask immediately, and the thief to try to assume a defensive stance with his cane… only to find an angry midget looking at him, with a bunch of lien card in hand.

"Did the shoping go well?" Roman asked, with a rather cheeky smile; Neo replied by throwing the fake lien cards at him, with as much hatred as possible, to convey the message.

"Hey! Those are still usable!" Foxy shouted, earning a glare from the burglar.

"They work perfectly fine at supermarkets and low profile shops. Don't tell you tried to use them on jewelry." Roman asked, sounding even more mocking than before; Neo just gave him the finger, and a glare that spoke as a warning, should he not pay appropriately, she'll take things on her hand.

"Calm down, mute. After all, you are about to meet our employer." Foxy intervened, making the mute wary; she was truly considering selling out these idiots, because that Edo coin had worked wonderfully in getting her the jewels she wanted.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Next chapter will include a very serious meeting, and more divination, as well as the preparations for the dance; as a side note, I almost put in here the other theme song of Kanetsugu, which I recomend you give a try, it is "AI to Gi no Taiyou!" by the same singer, Kanetsugu's seiyou.


	23. Nefarious Plans and Evil Scheems

**Magnus:** New chapter, now starting to set the trap for the evil team, so enjoy! and remember: Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** 2:00 in the moring... need to... zzzzzzzz...

* * *

 **Chapter 23**

 **Nefarious Plans and Evil Scheems**

Cinder had enjoyed her position of power, her selfclaim as a mastermind; but HER claims of being wary of her nemesis had her anchored to reality, leaving her with the knowledge that she had reason to worry, to be on high alert, and today, after a long stride of pranks, jokes, and mishaps, she had managed to get ONE paper charm; it was not a falsification made by some creative prankster, not even one of the lesser copies made by one of the cultists, Emerald had finally able to steal one handcrafted by the priest himself…

"I must have to say that it was entirely blind luck that had me get it; it slipped from one of the cultists hand while moving a stash for the priest… just look at it, it has more quality than an art masterpiece from a Mistral Museum!" Emerald said, knowing better than to brag about an un-worked victory.

"And is more powerful than most atlesian hardware, you can even feel it vibrating!" Mercury added, being unable to downplay what he had in front of his eyes.

"And all of that, being infused in a mere piece of paper… preposterous." Cinder sneered at the object; she was able to see what the others not, the paper charm was glowing, but not like a powerful object, but like something angry.

"Did you see how he makes them work?" Cinder asked now, still refusing to touch the damned thing.

"I think so; he seemed to channel some of his aura into them, and then guided the papers with what seems to be telekinesis; I'm not certain about the timing on the activation though." Emerald replied, making Mercury wince at the painful memory, and Cinder frown, as she hated when Emerald showed hesitation on her answer.

"So; shall we test it?" Mercury proposed, knowing that the whole idea was to understand the monk, and ensure his downfall.

"I guess… Touch and focus should be enough…" Emerald hesitantly said while reaching for the paper in the table, ready to toy with the object, and prove herself as useful; but Cinder restrained her hand, with a dead serious expression on her face.

"First, I need to know what this thing is made of; understanding its components and how to make it should be far more helpful." Cinder said as she showed her opened palm, from where a tiny spider-looking grimm came off, making both of the observers shudder in fear and disgust; the little spider knew it's orders, but when Cinder placed it near the paper charm, it knew exactly what to do… it hissed, tensed, and then made a run for the window.

"That… can't be good." Emerald said with a fearful voice; she knew how deep was Cinder's control over the grimm, but to see one fleeing like that…

"So… Plan B?" Mercury asked, hesitantly of course, as he knew that he was going to become the guinea pig.

"Plan B." Both Cinder and Emerald said at the same time, with one pulling out a first aid kit, and the other an extinguisher.

Mercury spent the next twenty minutes trying to activate the paper charm, trying everything, from focusing his aura on it like never before, to downright insulting the paper in hopes of getting an answer, but it was futile; by the end of it the three just ended staring at it, again.

"Maybe is aura locked?" Emerald finally said, knowing that by being made by the priest, it may only react to him.

"Or it could be broken." Mercury added, either giving a possible scenario, or trying to mock the luck of the thief.

"It doesn't matter; at least we know we can handle it without activating it, so, breaking it apart and studying…" Cinder said as she reached to grab the piece of paper, confident in being able to analyze it by other means, but then, when she touched it, the paper charm finally activated…

"GHAAA!" Cinder screamed in pain, for the damned thing reacted by bursting in white flames, that immediately leaped at her left hand, and began to burn with righteous fury.

"CINDER!" Both lackeys shouted at the same time, but it was Emerald who grabbed the extinguisher, and saved Cinder from even more damage.

"Hum… Are you ok?" Mercury tentatively asked, while passing the first aid kit to Emerald, who was the only one allowed to touch their leader.

"That was not normal fire. That was no red dust!" Cinder said with a pained voice, still feeling the furious flames; Emerald did her best to apply the required medicine and bandages, not that it softened the frown on Cinder's face.

"Cinder, what does this mean?" Emerald asked, worried about the only one who took interest on her.

"We need to destroy him." Cinder said with a low growl, with his hand twitching in pain, for it was healing slower than usual; she had been given reason to be wary of this priest, now she knew why she better fear him, for that fire had burn just like the light of the silver eyes.

"Will do; I'll certainly enjoy the chance of revenge." Mercury said, way too happy for the chance to murder someone, especially the one who defeated him on the stage.

"And how are you going to do that? With a dagger while he sleeps?" Emerald was quick to stop him; she didn't care about the safety of the murderer, but of the accomplishment of the mission.

"I can do that." Mercury quickly replied, not that he actually wanted to go that route; Cinder decided to clarify before setting them loose though.

"No; not kill. Destroy. Mercury, gather all who hates this guy, and plot his demise, make it look like an accident, or an anti-faunus movement. Emerald, destroy his name, and his sense of love; begin by separating him from the silver eyed girl, and then ensure he forgets what it means to love; make use of seduction if needed, taint his heart and soul with earthly pleasures, then taint his reputation, so his cult crumbles with him. Then, when he steps into the great stage, show how he has no more of this heinous light, and then kill him." Cinder explained, sounding many more times evil than usual; she seemed to take this personally.

Meanwhile, inside the shrine of love…

Penny was not as happy as she would like to be; on one hand, she felt a little bit betrayed, because Ruby and Kanetsugu had gone against her wishes, and told their entire teams about her condition; on the other hand, not even one of them looked startled, angry, or even showing the slightlest sign of rejection; as much as this warmed her heart, she still didn't like the feeling of being exposed.

"So, she is the Kokeshi." Nobunaga said, trying to look at every part of Penny's visible body; it irked her, but couldn't complain, as the visionary didn't seem to reject her.

"My lord, I don't see her as the same as a… doll. She looks pretty human to me, if a little bit of quirky." Ranmaru suddenly said, sounding a little bit on edge, as he was in grounds better left to the wise and intellectual; Yang could have added odd to Ranmaru's description, but she felt even more out of place.

"I share your opinion, Ranmaru. Kanetsugu, I don't intend to put your judgment in doubt, but I don't see her as the living doll we are looking for." Nobunaga suddenly added, wanting some clarification.

"There is no need for proof or visible signs; the important thing here is to include her protection on your scheme." Kanetsugu replied, urging everyone to think on measures to protect such a wonderful heart.

"Why don't we let her explain herself? That way we all get the answers we seek, and begin helping her." Blake stated, trying to close the gap between her boyfriend and the battle monk; Penny gave a heavy sigh, and made a face of resignation, which disappeared when Kanetsugu hugged her, giving her the strength to talk.

"I am Penny Polendina, the first synthetic human capable of generating aura; I was created as a side experiment of a major project which is classified even to me; according to the General Ironwood, I am the link between the machine and the perfect savior of mankind, and it'll be my job to save the world one day." Penny recited what little she knew of her reason to exist, fully expecting both teams to question such declaration, as it was common knowledge that the current era, is an age of peace.

"Are you telling us, that you were created to fight against the Abyss?" Weiss slowly asked, half incredulous, and half boiling in rage; as an atlesian citizen, she believed that should such measures were being taken; she should have heard at least rumors about it.

"The what?" Penny asked, showing confusion about the name used.

"Don't worry, Penny; you are not facing this alone, and you aren't just a weapon to use against this; you are our friend, and you'll have your very own happy ending; right guys?" Ruby said as she joined the hug, sandwiching the mechanical girl in a rather pleasant way.

"Of course!" Nobunaga instantly answered, earning nods from everyone else.

"Am I missing something? What is this Abyss you are talking about?" Penny asked, sounding concerned; she didn't like that word, as it seemed to stir something inside of her.

"Nothing that you should concern yourself with; at least not right now." Nobunaga instantly replied, trying to withhold as much information as possible, partially because he thought that by having her not knowing it would be easier to place her away from danger.

"I disagree! She should be made aware of the danger she is in." Kanetsugu suddenly said, sounding a little bit upset; Ruby's frown wasn't helping with the picture.

"Made aware of what?" Penny shyly asked, being a little surprised by the monk's attitude.

"Maybe this is for the best, if she doesn't know, she won't have to worry about it; we are going to solve everything anyway." Blake added, aiding Nobunaga on his reasoning.

"Made aware of what?" Penny asked again, this time louder, but not as firm as she intended.

"If she doesn't know, then she may walk into a trap; we can't allow that!" Ruby joined her boyfriend in this fight of wills; she agreed about not having her involved in a dire fight, but having her unaware was just as risky.

"We should tell the headmaster, and even the general; secrecy may be a strong weapon, but without greater support, we won't be able to…" Kanetsugu added now, earning a frown from the visionary, who still wanted to claim this massive victory as his own, cementing his plans for the future; unfortunately, Penny was at her limit.

"MADE AWARE OF WHAT?!" Penny finally shouted, and then instantly covered her mouth; it was too late though, as she now had everyone's attention. A scroll ringing with an incoming message helped to break the tension though.

"Who is it?" Mitsuhide asked with worry, as all who were concerned with the prophecy were currently present.

"A little bird, saying something interesting." Nobunaga replied, and then showed the message:

 **Infiltration to the CIT during the dance; give me a shiny coin!**

"I wasn't expecting her to act THAT fast!" Yang suddenly said, earning the attention now.

"You… bought a spy within enemy ranks? HOW?!" Weiss asked in distress, now fearing that the visionary may be capable of toppling the kingdoms should he wished; a sentiment shared by her boyfriend.

"The dance is within three days… Nobu, maybe we should seek more help." Blake said to her boyfriend, who was in deep thought.

"I… But…" Nobunaga tried to say something to refute the path ahead, but couldn't; it was an extremely short time to lay a perfect trap, or to prevent long lasting damage; at least while trying to convey the idea that the Abyss still had the advantage.

" _ **Kanetsugu Naoe, your presence is required in the headmaster's office; please attend as soon as possible."**_ Glynda's voice came through the intercom, crushing any hope for the visionary to stay on the previous thought plan.

"It seems that the heavens favor Kanetsugu's ideals over your plans." Mitsuhide said, obviously aiming to hurt his nemesis even more; Nobunaga's small growl only seemed to concede his point.

"Fine, let's warn the others, and ensure their cooperation. Kanetsugu, be ready to do a full reading of the prophecy, because if they need to know about it, then they should hear it from you." Nobunaga said, and then motioned for everyone to move out of the shrine, and to accompany the monk.

"About time! Penny, there is a new set of spicy sauces we need to taste! Also we need to talk about…" Kage said in full cheerfulness as he saw Penny exit the shrine, he really wanted to invite her to the dance, especially before Leo had the chance to do so.

"I'm sorry, but I'm needed elsewhere. However I would like to ask you to gather the others in our dorm, as I want to have a special activity with all of you after I'm done with my friends." Penny said in a serious voice, one that even Kage could recognize; he now knew that there was going to be a mission, thought that worried him, because so far everything had seemed so nice.

"Jaune, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but…" Kanetsugu asked to the blond, who for some reason was already there by the door, alongside Pyrrha.

"Don't worry; we were going to stay around here anyway." Jaune replied, knowing that someone had to guard the sacred ground.

"We were?" Pyrrha asked, not really upset, but mildly annoyed; she had wanted to make a visit to the broom closet, which was just around the corner.

"Yeah! I mean, no one of your fans ever comes here…" Jaune said in a rather depressed voice; since the outsiders began to arrive, Pyrrha had become the center of attention of every Mistral student, as everyone of them knew about her exploits; she really hated to deal with them, as they ALWAYS pushed Jaune away from her.

"Yes! I remember now; we'll stay here." Pyrrha finally conceded, preferring to have Jaune happy, than to seek some privacy in a questionable place… not that it'll be any different though.

Emerald had watched the whole scene, seeing the large group part to what she assumed was the elevator to the headmaster's office; that had left her with a golden opportunity, because there were only two people guarding the gate to the shrine; now she only needed to wait enough time to ensure the pair would not suspect a thing. Emerald only waited about five minutes, and then made her move; approaching the champion and her toy boy.

"Is something wrong?" Jaune asked with his cheerful attitude, while Pyrrha had to hide a groan, because she was about to jump her boyfriend.

"Nothing really, just forgot some stuff inside, it won't take long." Jaune and Pyrrha saw Kanetsugu entering the shrine, just as usual, and after taking a mere notebook, he left the room, waving to them as friendly as always.

"I think I never saw him forgetting something before." Pyrrha said, not as a warning, but as a curious observation.

"It happens to everyone, like me." Jaune replied, shrugging at the scene, as it had nothing special about it.

"Hey guys!" Jaune and Pyrrha then turned to see Velvet and Yatsuhashi, smiling so friendly to them.

"We are going to stay here for a while, if you don't mind the company; or, if you prefer, we could stay here, alone." Velvet's suggestion was too good for Pyrrha to pass, so, before Jaune could say anything, she took his hand, and quickly walked away, knowing that the broom closet was too nearby to say no.

"I love it when they fall so easily." Emerald muttered from inside the shrine, closing the door while doing so; her smile disappeared quite quickly too, as her head became filled with pain; affecting two people was her limit, and doing so for that long was pushing her limits, but that had been worthwhile.

"I'm in." Emerald talked through her scroll, calling both of her companions.

" _Good, take a look at everything, take pictures and video, but don't touch anything until I arrive."_ Cinder ordered, knowing that time was of essence.

" _I'll keep guard by the window, in case someone returns."_ Mercury added, knowing that being a guard was always useful.

"Good thinking, because I think someone is going to return shortly." Emerald replied, looking at the forgotten scroll.

The trek to the elevator had been longer than usual, but only because Nobunaga and Kanetsugu were still discussing about to what extent the higher ups should be informed, in hushed voices, of course; when they arrived to the elevator though, something became obvious.

"Ups! It seems I misplaced my scroll!" Penny suddenly said, noticing the absence of the item when she remembered she still had to send a message to her father.

"Don't worry, I'm going for it!" Ruby happily said, and then left on her own, making everyone frown.

"Ranmaru, Yang!" Nobunaga instantly called, and the pair answered without any other signal, running after the red caped girl, even if it was a futile effort.

Alone, Ruby was faster than anyone, even a simple walk was easily confused with a full sprint, but with no real reason to rush, she was easily detected by the murderer, who instantly reported to Emerald; the thief had very little time to think, so she went for the most shocking thing she could conjure to affect the scythe wielder…

"Huh, that's weird; I thought these two would still be here. At least the shrine is still closed." Ruby said to herself as she opened the door, just to find the most shocking scene that she could see.

"YES! YES! HARDER!" Ruby watched the mint haired girl shout while being bent over the small table that Kanetsugu uses to work; her skirt was all the way up, and there was no sign of her undergarments.

"Now this is how a real woman feels! Nothing like that child!" The other figure and voice… it was Kanetsugu, half mounting the girl from behind; his pants were down, as well as his undergarments.

Ruby's mind and heart were shattered in an instant, her eyes couldn't bear to see any more; she turned around to run to anywhere but there… but when she gave the first step, she stoped, along with everything around her.

' _But Kanetsugu is at the elevator… waiting for me. Who is this then?'_ Ruby thought, frowning and trying to think; she then decided to take another look, and this time she found something different.

The image of depravity was still being played, but it was flickering, winking in and out of existence; Ruby focused a little more, getting closer to the table, and then, when the scene flickered, she saw the mint haired girl, but not in that pose; she was just sitting there, watching the door, with a sadistic smile on her face. Ruby was boiling in rage, being too close to take justice on her very own hand, but she decided to leave that to other people, people that would see this crime punished as it was just. With a final huff, she took Penny's scroll from the table, and ran to her boyfriend.

"Holy shit! She IS fast!" Emerald said and then laughed, she had just played her most successful card, and it had worked very nicely, if the frightening speed of the girl was any indication.

"Mercury, did you see her?" Emerald asked through her scroll, earning a whistling sound from the other side.

" _If you mean the red blur that passed ages ago, then yes, I saw her; you are a really naughty bitch!"_ Mercury praised his partner, as that had meant a serious wound in that relationship.

"That was a nice first step; let's hope you can keep it up on the next move." Cinder added from beyond the door frame, earning a small yelp from the thief.

"Cinder! Well, I just did my best; now, what do you want me to do here?" Emerald asked, finding distasteful how the shrine lacked anything valuable, like statuettes, idols or anything common for this kind of place.

"Well, we shouldn't…" Cinder started as she entered, just to begin to feel sick; two steps had her feeling severely ill, as if poisoned; by the fourth step she was about to vomit, so she left the classroom with haste.

"Cinder?" Emerald asked as she got closer, just to find her leader glaring, not at her, but at the shrine.

"Destroy it, everything, leave nothing usable; and make it look like an anti-faunus movement, with atlesian symbols for better effect." Cinder suddenly said, contradicting previous orders, not that Emerald would disobey; Cinder was left trembling, that room, the essence left behind by the owner, the scent of his workings, the very air… it was anathema, to her, and more importantly, to HER.

Back at the elevator…

They waited for only five minutes, but during that small time, they were witnesses to a most curious scene; Kanetsugu had been eyeing the elevator the whole time, sometimes he tried to place his ear to the doors, as if trying to listen to something behind them, others, he almost jumped away from the machine, as if scared; then Ruby arrived.

"UGH!" "HUFF!" Yang and Ranmaru were the first to touch ground, being thrown not too gently when Ruby stopped; she had met them half the way back, when they were still running to catch up to her, and since she had no intention whatsoever to stop, let alone slow down, she tackled and carried both to the point of reunion.

"I think my aura went directly into the red." Yang muttered while trying to get up, still trying to understand what had hit her.

"I think I have a broken rib." Ranmaru muttered, showing hesitance to even move.

"Ruby, are you ok?" Kanetsugu tentatively asked, although by the way she was trembling, and glaring, it would be a safe bet to say no.

"We'll talk about that later. But I found a mirage… thief." Ruby said, and then pushed everyone into the elevator, except Yang and Ranmaru, as they seemingly decided it to be safer to play sentries.

In the headmaster's office…

Ozpin, Glynda and Ironwood had been waiting for the battle monk to arrive, and each one of them had different things to ask. Glynda wanted the truth, to know about the hero of love, about how his influence was felt on his tribe, and what he could teach about his holy doctrine; Ironwood wanted the truth, to know about his magic and weapons, about how to mass produce them to finally have the invincible army that would protect the whole world; but Ozpin just wanted the truth, to finally know if he inherited such magic, or if he was the fabled hero of love himself, condemned or blessed to walk the world for all eternity, or even a reincarnation. Then they heard the elevator arriving, with almost the entire gang.

"I told you that this will happen." Glynda quietly said to Ozpin, who gave an annoyed sigh in return.

"Penny, what are you doing here?" The general asked, a little bit worried about her presence.

"What we are about to discuss concerns her, and you as well." Nobunaga curtly said, knowing that shock and awe were his most precious tools to use at this moment.

"And what are 'we' going to discuss? I'm pretty certain we only called Kanetsugu." Ozpin retorted, making Glynda shook her head in dismay at his antics, after all, she had already warned him about this group behavior.

"Your questions about Kanetsugu's magic, the meeting you so stubbornly want to know the details of, and our sacred mission on this land." Nobunaga replied, just as Weiss and Mitsuhide went to the windows, placing them in darkened mode.

"Kanetsugu, start with the prophecy, I'll try to fill in the details that we have found so far." Ruby said, although everyone noticed that she was still trembling in a mixture of sorrow and hate.

"Prophecy?" Glynda asked in a worried tone, knowing that such a word was only used for truly ominous things.

Kanetsugu sat in a lotus position, taking his deck of cards, and began to read the prophecy through divination, enthralling everyone in the room; the words he used, the descriptions he made, it all brought a horrible sensation to the adults, filling them with dread, and placing a knot on their stomachs, then gasps were heard when Kanetsugu told them about the targets of the abyss, and the painful victory of the white knights; it was a horrible picture for the view of team RWBY, but for the adults, that knew more about the issue, it was truly horrifying.

"We've already found the living doll, and we intent to protect her; also, I have an idea of who the thief is." Ruby added, hugging Penny in the process, and sounding ready to burst in rage at the mention of the thief.

"We still need help finding the adored fighter, and the child of magic; if you have any idea of who these people are, then tell us, as such information would halp us greatly to avoid disaster." Mitsuhide said, using his features and tone of voice to sound heroic; this sent the adults into shock, with guilty faces to boot.

"So, you know who these people are." Nobunaga said in an accusatory tone, catching the adults by surprise.

"Ozpin?" Glynda tentatively asked, seeing that things had spiraled out of control way faster than anticipated; Ozpin merely rised a hand; making her go quiet.

"We have an idea, yes; but we need to confirm a couple of things. Give us a week and we'll take Kanetsugu, and only Kanetsugu, to who we believe is the child of magic you are searching for; mind you, there is no guarantee that this is the one you seek." Ozpin replied, making Ironwood raise an eyebrow.

"What about the adored fighter?" Glynda asked, worried about the safety of everyone mentioned.

"We suspect this refers to Pyrrha, our friend, because she is quite famous, and, well, I can't think in more than five persons who don't find her amazing." Weiss replied, knowing her reputation.

"Unfortunately, we only suspect about it, for there is no way for us to confirm the claim." Mitsuhide added, knowing better than to speak of it like a fact, he wasn't Kanetsugu after all.

"I'm more interested on our enemies. You said you have an idea of who the mirage thief is; what about the legless murderer and the eye?" Ironwood asked, sounding too serious about this whole ordeal.

"Speaking of which; Kanetsugu, do you think that your divination may not be able to detect mechanical prosthetics?" Blake suddenly asked, catching the monk by surprise.

"Prosti-what?" Kanetsugu asked in a way that may have earned a couple of laughs in a different occasion; the rest of the attendants just face palmed, for some found such a thing so obvious that it was painful to think that no one figured that out.

"A limb that is severed and lost, can be replaced by a fully mechanized part; since your reading detected me as a doll, and not a machine, it stands to reason that it wouldn't detect, let say, mechanical legs on a person." Penny patiently explained, sounding happy to help.

"So, they know about you." Ironwood suddenly said, making sure to leave it clear that this group had discovered Penny's synthetic nature.

"We know she is a wonderful girl, with a wonderful heart, and a beautiful soul!" Kanetsugu was fast to jump between the general and his beloved friend.

"And no amount of nuts and bolts will make her any less real than any of us!" Ruby joined too, startling the general, and earning a chuckle from Ozpin.

"I told you that this would happen, James; now, since we are all in the same side, why don't you already tell us why are you so reticent to leave Kanetsugu alone with us?" Ozpin asked now, sounding disarming and wise, while gathering everyone's attention.

"We are aware of the danger we are in; and we can't afford to leave anyone of our group alone, for that may give a chance for the enemy to strike. You must understand, our white knights have demanded a happy ending for everyone, and we will deliver." Nobunaga repeated what he had said before, puzzling the general, and making Ozpin grimace; Glynda simply gave a fond smile, because she believed this to be some heroic speech.

"What about the abyss?" Ironwood asked, regaining composure after being intimidated by the cheerful pair.

"The abyss will perish, consumed by its own darkness." Nobunaga said with a smirk, showing his scroll with the message from the mute.

"That seems too convenient." Ozpin said, obviously wary about the source of information.

"So? We just need to set an ambush and be done with it." Ironwood proposed, ready to make use of his army.

"Of course not! It would be like shooting at the paws of an Ursa; it will only warn the abyss of our knowledge!" Nobunaga was quick to dispel all notions of direct confrontation.

"What are you suggesting then?" Ozpin asked, truly interested in hearing his plan, if only to prove his point about how villainous he truly was.

"I'm only suggest that we do what hunters do; we prepare the trap, we leave the juicy bait, then we lure the beast into a false sense of safety, and when it no longer fears reprisal… we make a single decisive strike." Nobunaga replied, freezing the adults, not for what he had said, but by how he said it; that had sounded extremely evil, as if he had enjoyed the vision of brutalizing the abyss, and its followers.

"Am I the only one who finds your acceptance of all of this disturbing?" Weiss suddenly asked, earning everyone's attention.

"Maybe is time to tell you some of the hidden truths of the world." Glynda softly said, knowing that with their involvement in such a horrible prophecy, they seriously will need help.

"I don't think they are ready, well, not all of them." Ozpin tried to stop his deputy, knowing that he needed more time to sway the monk and the silver eyed to his side.

"Wait, you knew about the abyss beforehand?" Blake asked, sounding furious too.

"We hadn't had a name for it, nor an idea of its motivations." Ironwood added, making Ozpin groan in disappointment, because he really wanted to influence the youngsters before showing them the truth; now they'll be harder to guide.

* * *

 **Magnus:** I'm getting Pokemon Sun tomorrow, so I may take a week of rest before updating again, maybe, maybe not. Anyway, the dance chapter is going to play different than the original show, with a special number that I've been cooking up for a few weeks now, it'll be fabulous!


	24. Heavy Hearts

**Magnus:** I'm very sorry for the delay, which admitedly wasn't because a videogame, but due to an extra load of work; I'll try to get less delays in the future, for now, enjoy! And remember: Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** Pokemon Sun has been an amazing game, my only complaint is that there is no Gardevoir.

* * *

 **Chapter 24**

 **Heavy Hearts**

Nobunaga watched the figures of authority in the room, they had been confused, and yet informed; the knowledge was there, but not the entire picture, so he decided to act by laying out his plan.

"The upcoming dance is an event that all students are supposed to assist, but we know that the enemy is possing as students, which means that at least one student will be missing for a period of time." Nobunaga began to say, just to be immediately interrupted.

"Wait! What do you mean by that? How do you know that?!" Ironwood couldn't contain himself; he wouldn't scream like that under normal circumstances, but he felt like dealing with a black ops agent, one which wasn't under his command; Ozpin merely raised an eyebrow, curious about that too.

"Our informant has gone to great efforts to get us this information; needless to say, part of the next step is to confirm the information itself. It goes without saying that the life of this person will be in great danger if the enemy discovers our knowledge of the situation." Nobunaga explained, making his teammates and the girls share expressions of discomfort, as he was obviously lying about the sources… the thought of the poor mouse being put in danger by Ironwood was enough to ensure nobody corrected the visionary.

"And how does the dance fits into this step." Ozpin carefully asked, knowing that he had to get all the details before stepping in.

"Because I don't believe that the agents of the Abyss are stupid, I do believe that we'll be watched while the move is done; we need to ensure that these agents believe their move to be a complete success, while we place the trap for their downfall." Nobunaga continued, but got interrupted again.

"I don't get it, if we allow them to infiltrate the CIT, then how are we going to put a trap for them?" Glynda suddenly asked, but this only earned an evil smirk from the visionary.

"The infiltration to the CIT is just a precursory event for what they will do; we believe that a large scale terrorist attack will take place at some point of the Vytal festival, and to pull it off, they need to sabotage the CIT to prevent an appropriate intervention from the atlesian army." Weiss suddenly explained, freezing the adults in their spots.

"It is during this attack that the Abyss will show itself, and it is there where it must be stopped." Mitsuhide continued, surprising even Ozpin.

"This is the reason we do this; we need the agents to believe their infiltration a success, so we can reverse whatever they do. As long as they move in ignorance, we will be able to prevent disaster, and win a true victory." Blake finished, knowing that this was not only the best path, but the only one for them.

On his seat, Ozpin was feeling sick; not only he knew that this was villainous thinking, but one he could agree to, especially with what was at risk. The Abyss was the origin of the grimm, no doubt, and her agents were the ones who had ambushed Amber; if they were so close, and were to act at such a critical time, it only mean that they were going to finish what they started, the usurpation of the maiden's powers. Ozpin didn't like the visionary any more, in fact, he hated him more right now, but his way of thinking was proving most useful, and his oath seemed to align his goals with the greater good…

"Then, what is the plan, what do you propose we do about this?" Ozpin finally asked, earning a smile from Glynda, because she thought that Ozpin was finally seeing the good in the young Oda.

"First, we need to give some sense of normalcy to the agents; they already begun to make movements, already seek to approach us; so, we let them believe that we have no idea whatsoever of the events to come. Leave the planning of the dance to me and Blake, that will make them believe that we have our minds and hands busy away from their doings; then, during the dance, we'll ensure that their attention is only focused on the stage, so Mitsuhide and Weiss follow the one who infiltrates the CIT." Nobunaga began his explanation, sounding more evil with each word.

"Why Mitsuhide and Weiss?" Glynda suddenly asked, wondering why not a teacher, or one of Ironwood's agents.

"Ease of movement; thanks to my glyphs, we can move large distances with extremely little sound, and from any altitude; we just need to excuse ourselves to one of the balconies of the tower to be in our way to the CIT." Weiss explained, sounding incredibly proud of having her skills being put to use.

"Don't worry, we'll be there just to watch, not to intervene." Mitsuhide quickly assured, knowing that the safety of the white knights was above all else.

"With this, and Ruby's knowledge, we'll have the agents identified; then we'll have to have them believe that their plan is going smoothly, so the Abyss comes unprepared to face our wrath. This plan, of course, will require adjustments in accordance to what we find and what we face; that is why your assistance will be invaluable to our efforts." Nobunaga finished, and found comfort in the shocked faces of the adults.

"This sounds incredibly well planed; so well that I don't see were we come into play." Ozpin said, knowing that there was still something out to be said.

"Your efforts will be of most importance. General, could it be possible to leak the schedule for change of patrols during the dance? Furthermore, make it possible to leave only the outdated machines to guard the area for a small time between patrols?" Nobunaga asked to Ironwood, who looked puzzled at the request.

"It wouldn't be hard, but why?" Ironwood replied, wanting to know how such action would help.

"The one who will infiltrate surely won't be stupid; it stands to reason that this agent will try to avoid confrontation, or at least reduce the chances of being stopped, so, by giving a perfect window of opportunity, we can control the exact time the move will be done, and thus, orchestrate the plan to ensure no one notices an absence of students during the dance." Nobunaga explained, making the headmaster discretely clutch his stomach due the sickening feel of having such a manipulative bastard in front of him.

"What about us?" Glynda asked, already liking how this plan seemed so solid.

"Sensei, headmaster, I'm going to ask you to help us on some damage control; not to minimize it, but to make it seem more extreme. The Abyss seems to have taken Kanetsugu and his religion as prime targets of its attacks; if we make it believe it is gaining ground we'll be able to have it focused entirely on a nonexistent front. Kanetsugu, I hate to ask this of you, but in the coming crisis, I need you to allow some hostility between your flock and the outsiders, all while you remain strong on your light." Nobunaga continued, but this time he got more reactions than intended.

"What attacks?" Glynda asked full of concern.

"What crisis?" Ozpin asked too, worried for his grandiose plans.

"What are you talking about?" Kanetsugu finally asked, feeling the strange urge to run toward the shrine of love; it was then that Ruby tugged at his sleeve.

"The mirage thief… I saw her inside the shrine… sorry." Ruby said with a downcast face, close to tears; Kanetsugu immediately hugged her.

"Don't worry, my love; you did right by not engaging her, by coming directly to me." Kanetsugu sweetly said, trying to have her feel forgiveness and calm.

"INSIDE?!" Both Ozpin and Glynda shouted, for they knew very well that the shrine had been religiously guarded since the day the exchange students began to arrive, it seemed impossible that someone managed to get inside with such heavy surveillance. Ozpin immediately brought up a screen, showing only static, which means that the damage had been already done.

"Am I missing something?" Ironwood asked, recognizing the distress on the headmaster and his deputy.

"The shrine of love had been under guard during all the time that outsiders had been here at the school; it seems illogical to think that someone decided to leave their guard duties though, as that place is sacred to many of us." Penny replied, informing the General of the importance of the old classroom.

"As long as the Abyss remains focused on Kanetsugu, we'll be able to act with a certain degree of freedom." Nobunaga said with a somber voice, just to be followed by Kanetsugu's scroll ringing.

" _ **Kanetsugu, we need you here at the shrine, now!"**_ Yatsuhashi's voice sounded in absolute panic, leaving no time to ask about anything else; Kanetsugu, Ruby and Glynda immediately departed to the shrine, with Nobunaga, Mitsuhide, Blake and Weiss following at a slower pace. Soon Ozpin and Ironwood were left behind, with a massive feel of uneasiness.

"You know what, I'm going to offer the young Oda a place as a black ops; he surely knows how to work in the shadows." Ironwood suddenly said, mostly to break the tension.

"And ruin his career as a huntsman? I don't think so." Ozpin replied, more afraid of having his nemesis act away from his sight than anything else.

At the shrine of love…

It was an absolute disaster, trash, rotten food and dirt was all over the once beautiful tatami, every gourd that once contained the magic ink was shattered and scattered all over the small tables, and every exotic canvas was now covered in graffiti…

 **Die mongrel lovers**

 **Burn the disease ridden faunophiles**

 **You are no better than the Grimm**

The hateful words painted in the once full of love walls were a horrible sight, a sad remembering that the world still was hell bent on destroying the few beautiful things that the very few kindhearted people still tried to maintain; it was extremely hurtful to the cultists, and it was showing.

"WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!" Velvet shouted in sadness and rage to the only one she could point as responsible for this incident; Yatsuhashi was doing his best to restrain her, but she was struggling far too much.

"WE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS! YOU KNOW I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST YOU OR YOUR CULT!" Pyrrha screamed back, tired of being painted as the one responsible for this horrible act; Jaune had been serving as her shield valiantly, even when that may lead to his expulsion from the cult.

"YOU HAD ONLY ONE JOB! ONE JOB! DID YOU ACCEPT IT JUST TO DO THIS TO US?!" Velvet continued to increase her volume, seemingly ready to get violent.

"OF COURSE I DIDN'T! WE LEFT BECAUSE YOU TWO APPEARED AND VOLUNTEERED TO REPLACE US!" Pyrrha kept her defense, oblivious to Jaune's pleas to calm down; she never joined the cult, but agreed to help Jaune on his few duties, thing that she was regretting now.

"WE DIDN'T! BUT OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T NOTICE BECAUSE YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A HORNY BITCH!" Velvet had gone past the point of hysteria, much to Yatsuhashi shame, who couldn't remember to have seen his beloved bunny girl being this violent any time in the past.

"YOU ARE THE ONE WHO LIKES TO FUCK LIKE A RABBIT IN HEAT!" Pyrrha shouted back, finally going to the extreme of sounding like a faunus hater, making even Jaune gasp in horror. Things were about to explode into full violence, but fortunately Kanetsugu arrived.

"ENOUGH!" Kanetsugu's voice swept across the room and the hearts of the people reunited, silencing everyone, and gaining their attention.

"I want to hear what happened." Kanetsugu added, sounding serious, but not angry.

"Right, Pyrrha and I were standing guard at the door, when Velvet and Yatsuhashi arrived to take our place. We weren't too far away when we heard them scream, and we found this scene when we arrived." Jaune explained, making the other couple to sneer at him and the champion.

"When we arrived to the shrine, you two were nowhere to be seen, and the destruction was already done. You abandoned us!" Velvet continued, getting angrier by the second, making Kanetsugu shook his head in sadness.

"I believe you, both of you. Jaune, when did you see Velvet and Yatsuhashi arrive?" Kanetsugu asked now, getting confused stares at his declaration of trust.

"Well, very shortly after you returned for your notebook." Jaune replied, and this time Ruby was the one to let out a heavy sigh.

"Then you were tricked by the mirage thief." Ruby said with a voice full of guilt, because she still thought that she should have done something to prevent this.

"Mirage thief?" Pyrrha asked, confused at the term.

"Kanetsugu never returned to the shrine for anything; I did, and when I arrived there was neither Jaune nor Velvet. Inside I was shown an image of… Kanetsugu… doing… it doesn't matter, she can create illusions, and make people believe things." Ruby explained, sounding terribly troubled by what she saw, earning a hug from Kanetsugu.

"Like tricking someone into leaving our shrine unprotected…" Velvet finally said, sounding guilty, regretting all the hurtful words she shouted at Pyrrha.

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha immediately added, knowing that she had gone too far on her words.

"But why? Why would someone do this?" Yatsuhashi suddenly asked, and them murmurs began to join him, some pointing to the level of destruction, others to the atlesian iconography shown in the graffiti, Kanetsugu was about to reply, when someone else beat him to it.

"Because the Abyss fears what you are achieving with your religion." Nobunaga's voice resounded strongly as he entered the shrine, earning everyone's attention.

"The Abyss?" Jaune asked, unsure about the name.

"Yes, a group of humans that are the counterpart of the White Fang, extremists who want to see the faunus extinct; nobody had paid them attention because they had no need to act so openly with the continual bigotry of our times, but your religion forced them to act now, because word of it had reached beyond the borders, especially with so many outsiders asking about it." Nobunaga explained, telling obvious lies about the nature of the attack.

"Atlesian bastards…" Someone said aloud, starting a wave of hatred, thing that Ruby was fast to stop.

"The mirage thief is not atlesian, but from Mistral, she said so herself." Ruby said, loud enough to silence the wave of hate.

"From Mistral? But we…" Pyrrha was at a loss, torn between defending her homeland, and accept the truth.

"Pyrrha, why don't you leave us for a while? You have been forgiven, so there is no reason for you to stay." Velvet said to an even guiltier champion, who felt thoroughly responsible for this tragedy.

"Come Pyrrha, let's go back to our team; it'll be for the best." Jaune said with a rather weak voice, feeling that even his presence would do no good right now; soon they vacated the place, leaving the others feeling none the better about it.

"All the priceless relics, the invaluable wisdom… lost." Glynda finally said, feeling worse than the others, for she had been there during the construction of their holy place.

"Have you all forgotten what I taught you?" Kanetsugu suddenly asked, earning everyone's attention.

"What was the first lesson I gave?" Kanetsugu asked now, confusing everyone.

"The true content of this shrine is the voice of the heavens, and those who listen to it." Ruby recited, earning the approbation of her boyfriend, and a downcast shameful face from the others.

"True, and well spoken; now, I want everyone to meditate on this, so you never forget it again." Kanetsugu said, walking to the only intact locker on the old classroom, from where he took out a mop, a broom and a bucket.

"Kanetsugu, what are you doing?" Glynda asked upon seeing his actions.

"Well, this place isn't going to clean itself, and I need it clean to rebuild a new the shrine." Kanetsugu calmly replied, making everyone drown in shame, because the priest had shown more maturity than the royal families and the headmasters of the four kingdoms together; in an instant, everyone began to join him in cleaning the place, not that it served to stop their dark thoughts of revenge against this group of evildoers.

At team PSTL's dorm room…

Ciel looked at the two boys in front of her, their antics and pointless discussion; she hated it, not because it was a non-tactical discussion, but because it didn't include her, and that hurt her pride… not that she would ever admits it out loud.

"I will invite her to the dance." Leo said with the most imposing stance he could muster, being helped by his superior muscular mass, not that it deterred his opponent.

"No, I will! You can watch us from the side lines if you want." Kage shot back, crossing his arm for added effect, as if declaring that all that bravado and discipline had no place in such a battle.

"Why do you even bother? You have no discipline, no class, and even less education!" Leo went into the offensive, sounding ready to hurt the troublemaker.

"Hey! At least I understand peace, which is what she wants to begin with. Do you think you can go for five minutes without going nuts about war and violence?" Kage replied, earning a deep growl from the large blond.

"See?! You couldn't last even ten seconds!" Kage continued, noticing how the growl had turned into a snarl.

"Could you please stop doing that? You look like a filthy faunus when you growl." Ciel couldn't help but to intervene, growing wary of the sounds she hated so much, earning the stares of her teammates.

"You don't like faunus?" Kage bluntly asked, frowning at that piece of knowledge.

"No. Do you?" Ciel replied, narrowing her eyes at the duo.

"I have no trouble with them; I mean, I'm not going to run, hug and kiss the next faunus I see, but they are ok, just like humans, really." Kage said in a very relaxed way, seemingly uncaring of the face of revulsion that Ciel made at his answer.

"We are expected to show a degree of cooperation and tolerance toward other sentient races, if you cannot act accordingly on your own, then remember the discipline that was drilled into you." Leo added, seemingly avoiding answering for himself.

"That is not what I wanted to address. Just imagine for a moment, Leo, that Penny start believing you to be a faunus, how would she react then if you invite her to the dance?" Ciel asked, making the large guy to look down in deep thought; Kage just glared at the girl, for as much as he loved to defend the ladies, Ciel was beginning to act like a bitch.

"I would probably accept his invitation, even if he suddenly grew a tail and ears; being a faunus or human has no sway in my opinion of a friend, their actions do." Penny said as she entered the room, being followed by Ironwood himself.

"GENERAL!" Leo and Ciel shouted as they saluted the general, who looked at them with a rare intensity.

"Does that mean that you wouldn't go to the dance with me?" Kage asked with a few tears on his face, seemingly ready to start sulking.

"If you invite me, then yes, I would go; as it stands now, nobody has invited me yet though." Penny replied, making both boys go wide eye, and almost ready to start fighting again.

"Whoever invites her, must be warned; there seems to be a plot to assassinate miss Polendina, so your duties as guards will be redoubled." Ironwood suddenly said, making Penny wince, and the others go hysterical.

"WHAT?!" The rest of team PSTL shouted at the same time, unable to imagine someone truly wanting to hurt the quirky girl.

"A group of human supremacists has already hit the local cult of love due to their level of tolerance toward faunus; miss Polendina, being part of the cult, and a link to Atlas, has become a high priority target for this upstarts. Your mission hasn't changed; this is only a sudden increment of difficulty, nothing different from a true mission in the field." Ironwood half explained, hopping to get the idiots to work in a more serious ground.

"Don't worry, sir; no one is passing through me while I breathe." Kage said while hitting his chest, as if to add more bravado to his words.

"I hope you are ready to carry on that promise, soldier. In the mean time, as a show of good will, your team will join the cultists in an effort to repair their shrine; Atlas must not be seen as antagonists to these people, for they want the very same thing we do, everlasting peace." Ironwood continued, giving his orders at the end.

"Yes sir!" The entire team replied, and then began to exit the room to obey the orders; Ironwood stopped Ciel though.

"It'll be expected of you to work alongside faunus during your career, if you can't do so, then you may want to change your career to something that requires less discipline." Ironwood coldly stated, remembering the girl that she was a soldier, and not a huntress in training; she had no right to be picky about coworkers.

Later that day…

In the cafeteria, Cinder and her lackeys were enjoying their meal to the fullest, basking in the news about the heavy hit that the cultists had taken, and how the faculty was in a fruitless chase of atlesian students to find the perpetrator.

"Isn't it horrible, how a group of pacifists find themselves in the receiving end of some intolerants?" Cinder asked, not even bothering to hide the cynical attitude; her lackeys would have felt better if she weren't placing so much of that yellowish paste over all her food though.

"Yes; and their screams of sorrow were truly heartbreaking." Mercury replied with a rather large grin; hearing the bunny girl and the mistral champion go into a verbal cat fight had been truly invigorating for him.

"You know, that poor priest must feel really down for this loss; maybe I can find a way to cheer him up." Emerald added, actually looking forward to do the misdeed; she usually hated this kind of actions, but there was something about Kanetsugu that had her wanting to taint his relationship with the silver eyed girl.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be most grateful for your attention." Cinder said while taking a bite of her food; she immediately covered her mouth, showing a face of absolute revulsion, and then she darted out of the cafeteria with a face that was turning green; Emerald and Mercury tentatively tasted the mustard-like substance, just to be shocked.

"This is sickingly sweet!" Mercury shouted in disbelief.

"Honey-mustard? Really?!" Emerald said with the beginning of a smile, she actually had missed such flavor; then they remembered that their leader would be most displaced if they weren't by her said to lend their aid in the next couple of seconds, so they ran after her at top speed.

Behind a pillar, the special team no longer took random notes, they were now focusing intently on how to make this team drown on their own blood; most of the Ran-corps had little to do with the cult of love, but they hated it when someone tried to sabotage something born in their land, and with what Ranmaru had tell them to watch out for, they came to the conclusion that this was the team to target; now they only needed the proper signal to began the rain of pranks.

Headmaster's office…

Ozpin hated how things had turned out to be. His original plan was to chose a proper heiress to the maiden's power, but then the prophecy came, ruining all his carefully laid plans; he didn't blame Kanetsugu though, in fact, he felt grateful, because his words had been a confirmation to his assumptions; the adored fighter was Pyrrha, he had no doubt of that, just as he didn't doubt Penny being the living doll, so, the child of magic had to be Amber, which means that in fact, he was going to choose appropriately, and of course, someone will sabotage his plans anyway. What the headmaster hated, was Nobunaga's intromission; the million times cursed visionary had figured almost everything on his own, even the perfect solution to get out of the potentially fatal situation, robbing the headmaster of the opportunity to be the savior of everyone… alas, things had gone this way now, and for the greater good, the peace and prosperity of his kingdom under his future rulership, he would play along; starting by addressing the pair of outsiders before him.

"Humm… what are we doing here?" The guy with blue hair asked, sounding extremely self-conscious, aware of a possible and well deserved punishment.

"This is for that incident with Blake, isn't it?" The blond, tailed guy asked, knowing better than to stall.

"That is part of the reason you are here, yes; it is impossible to overlook such harassment to my students, thing that I don't take kindly." Ozpin replied, making the youngsters swallow hard, expecting this to escalate into a full blown incident between academies.

"However, miss Belladonna has requested you are given one last chance; she and her boyfriend are willing to not press charges against you IF you stop any further attempts against them, of course that means that the next time you harass them it'll be the school the one pressing the charges against you, and not only the affected couple; I believe I don't need to explain you all the repercussions that would bring to you." Ozpin explained, amused at watching the rollercoaster of emotions shown on the faces of the outsiders, ranging from relief, to absolute dread.

"Thank you, headmaster; It'll never happen again." Neptune was the first to answer, accepting the conditions before his companion had a chance to say anything else.

"Yeah, sure…" Sun added, sounding very unconvincing.

"It'll never happen again; BECAUSE I'LL CASTRATE MY FRIEND WITH A DULL AND RUSTY KNIFE IF HE EVER SEEMS ABOUT TO TRY IT!" Neptune shouted, full intent on delivering his threat should Sun give him reason to do so.

"Now, I understand your reasoning to have done such a thing, is just that the way you acted is what caused this level of misunderstanding; I'm certain you had the best of intentions, just not the best judgment, and since I appreciate good intentions, I'm willing to ask you to accept a temporary job within my school." Ozpin said, getting the attention of the duo by placing a pair of cop plates in the desk, just within reach of their twitchy hands.

"As you may have noticed, there had been numerous reports of pranks being played all over the school, this in itself is not outside the boundaries of normal students, but the pranks had increased in frequency and dangerousness; since I can't ask a local team to do this, out of fear of it being involved in the pranks, it'll fall to you to look into these pranks, determine who is behind them, and then bust their dorms to confiscate all the materials; mind you, this is in no way permission to bust into any team's dorm room at any time for any reason; each and every break in must be sanctioned by the academy staff, and carried in a dignified way, is that understood?" Ozpin finished his speech, truly enjoying the faces of the pair of idiots; they had fallen for it, and will carry his bidding, keeping the agents of the Abyss on their toes, making them paranoid, all without suspecting that they are the targets.

"Do you understand what this means?" Sun asked with an idiotic smile on his face.

"Yeah!" Neptune replied with no less amount of excitement.

"WE ARE JUNIOR DETECTIVES!" Both shouted while bro-fisting, making the headmaster chuckle at their stupidity, he wouldn't miss them if they were burned to a crisp by the usurper of the maiden's powers, as that sacrifice would directly point to the culprit, serving the greater good.

Undisclosed location…

A certain midget was looking intently at her latest catalogue, salivating at the image of a ridiculously expensive handbag; she just couldn't wait to get her reward to get her newly dream accessory, knowing that the upcoming event will show who will win her loyalty. She knew very well that the information was solid, she just needed to see what they'll do with it; if they stopped this Cinder woman, then she'll have to give it to them, because the bitch had quite a lot of strange powers, powers that were used to force her to cooperate under the absolute unfair condition of being paid until the end of the operation… which was completely unacceptable; should they just confirm the info, then that was good too, as she'll be paid, and will have more opportunities to get more coins. And if they died, well, at least her situation would not be any worse.

"Hey, mute! Stop posing as furniture, and help with packing!" Foxy shouted to the annoyed illusionist, who couldn't wait to find more information to sell, and if possible, to eliminate these idiots… she still resented being paid with false money.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Next chapter may contain a few references to RWBY Chibi, which I was dissapointed for not showing a Chibi-Penny.


	25. Dance Dance Deception

**Magnus:** Guess what? No delay this week! Still gotta play a hell lot more pokemon, in the mean time, enjoy! and remember: Read and review!

 **Disclaimer:** I managed to catch Solgaleo in a premier ball! Oh wait, that does not belong here, right?

* * *

 **Chapter 25**

 **Dance Dance Deception**

Nobunaga Oda was a man that took pride on his victories, on his craftiness and on his unmatched skill at having his way; he was able to walk with pride, lording his way over pretty much everyone with the sole knowledge that the most brilliant and powerful warlords of his land had bowed before him, kissing his feet as he simply trampled his way over them; he was also a man who could sleep soundly at night anywhere he laid his head, knowing that he had gained the loyalty of most of his men, and the soul eating fear of his enemies… and yet he was nothing but a nervous wreck when faced with planning a party…

"Calm down, I'm sure everything is going to be ok." Blake said to her boyfriend while hugging him tenderly, almost laughing at the sight of the mighty warlord being reduced to a shivering puppy.

"What was I thinking?! I couldn't even throw a party for my adorable sister!" Nobunaga cried on Blake's shoulder, wondering what could have possessed him to volunteer for this endeavor.

"Let's move step by step, let's start with the curtains for the windows." Blake patiently said, and watched in amusement how the visionary took a calming breathe to begin with her suggestion.

"Yes, you are right; it shouldn't be too hard to choose the right silk for the dance." Nobunaga said, trying to sound confident, clearly remembering how his beloved Oichi positively commented on his selection of curtains for her wedding… the only positive comment…

"So, you want silk? Ok; now we have to select the type, color and pattern to have an idea on what else to add as decorations." Blake happily answered, almost laughing at the face of despair of her boyfriend, apparently on his land; silk was a single type of fabric.

At team RWBY's room…

Ruby had asked for a time of solitude to deal with her very own crisis, her new need to approach her boyfriend with the tale of what Emerald had shown her; of course she wasn't left alone, instead she was left in the company of her sister and Ranmaru, who were planning a small event that would have everyone paying attention to them and nothing else, not that they were paying attention to her, so she had a lot of time to think on how to approach her boyfriend.

"… kick-step, kick-step, and then we body-roll into each other's arms…" Yang and Ranmaru continued with what Ruby could understand as a very elaborated and confusing dance… no doubt making everyone believe it was a love story.

"I think I need to get distracted…" Ruby muttered to herself after imagining herself doing that dance, but with Kanetsugu, and without…

"I really need a distraction." Ruby repeated, and then went to the small bookshelf, looking for one of Blake's books, something like the 'Man with two souls'; suddenly something caught Ruby's attention, there was a book under Blake's pillow, one she didn't remember to have seen in the shelf before; Taking the book, and watching the cover, she could only assume a couple of things…

"Ninjas, eh? Should be interesting." Ruby said to herself, and then began to read the book; in the background, Yang and Ranmaru were too busy to notice what Ruby was reading.

At the shrine of love…

Cleaning the floor and walls had taken an entire day, and today, Kanetsugu and the members of the cult were focused on replacing the canvas and inscriptions; they didn't feel at ease with team PSTL there.

"You know. With how Penny spoke about this place, I had thought that most of this stuff was like invaluable treasures brought from ancient temples, and not things hand made here." Ciel said as she watched the cultists and the priest working on the writings, placing them on the walls with religious care.

"They are invaluable treasures, made with our hands and hearts, with the intention of serving to guide others in times of need." Penny said as she placed her own inscription in the wall, feeling so proud of her work that she seemed to be glowing.

[Feeling love is being alive.]

"I wasn't trying to make it sound less important." Ciel defended herself before she was attacked; after all, she felt the glares of the cultists at her choice of words.

"Be careful, Ciel; some faunus are able to tell when you are lying." Leo reprimanded her as he placed a box with gourds filled with different colors of magic ink; the smell of alcohol was not lost to him.

"No need to remind me." Ciel said through clenched teeth, feeling completely unease at being surrounded by faunus, and faunus lovers.

"What surprises me more of this place is how easily everyone works together; I just bruised elbows with some faunus and none felt insulted or aggravated!" Kage said as he joined them after he finished taking out the ruined canvas, earning a not so subtle shudder from their logistic expert.

"That is because we all left prejudice and racism outside the door of the shrine; here, I'm Penny, and not 'that atlesian outsider'; I hope all of you have done the same." Penny explained, looking intently at Ciel at the end; the two guys gave simple nods.

"By the way, I want to ask if you would like to go to the dance with me, Penny." Kage asked all of the sudden, taking by surprise both Leo and Ciel; Penny simply giggled.

"Yes, I would love to." Penny replied with a simplicity of mind and soul that was both beautiful and mind-blowing, leaving Kage with a thousand watt smile, and Leo with a sad face.

"That isn't fair; I was going to ask her first!" Leo suddenly shouted, earning a little too much attention.

"Well, too late buddy." Kage replied with a rather smug smile.

"If you two are going to fight over me, then I won't go with neither." Penny suddenly said, sounding sad at the turn of events; as elating as it was to be the reason of two males fighting, she believed that nothing should ruin their friendship, especially when she felt that she was finally seeing the good in the two males of her team.

"That won't do, I don't want to see your night ruined; please make your choice, I will respect your wishes." Leo immediately said, obviously meaning what he said.

"Yeah, just go with whoever you want, anything to see you smile." Kage added, making Ciel roll her eyes at such corny lines.

"Well, how about this? I'll spend the entire dance with whoever helps the most today, but will give the first dance to the other." Penny asked, smiling as if she had asked something normal, earning more attention from the other cultists; Leo and Kage shared a look, a look that spoke of rivalry.

"Of course." Leo replied, and then went to see where else his height and strength could be needed.

"Deal!" Kage said, and turned to keep helping in whatever there was to help.

"Not bad; you certainly have the beginnings of a manipulator." Ciel couldn't help but to comment, not liking the lack of attention she was getting, nor Penny's sudden jump in popularity, still, she was too prideful to even comment on that directly.

"And you, Ciel; if you could kindly help me to deliver these bottles to everyone, I will consider not reporting your behavior to our headmaster." Penny finished, making Ciel grimace at such wording, finding the quirky girl far too qualified for a leader.

"At once." Ciel replied, wondering when Penny learned such tactics.

Across the school grounds, students were asking their dates out, some with more success than others…

"Hey Pyrrha!" Jaune greeted Pyrrha as they crossed each other path… outside their dorm.

"Hey Jaune! Do you think we should attend the dance, together, as a couple?" Pyrrha asked with eyes that belonged to a swooning schoolgirl, and not to the many times Mistral champion.

"Pyrrha! We've been over this before! I was supposed to ask you, and you only needed to say yes!" Jaune said in distress, fearing that he was losing what little manliness he had left on him with each bout of Pyrrha's dominance in their relationship.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha said, again, with that beautiful voice, and tender features that made impossible to deny her anything, or hold it against her for more than a second.

"It's just… I… Let just ry it again, ok?" Jaune asked, defeated at her display of emotions.

"Ok." Pyrrha conceded, and then separated a few steps to try the scene again.

"Seriously? Are they still at it?" Nora asked to Ren, inside their room; they had expected their teammates to be done with their act hours ago, not that she minded being alone with Ren.

"I guess they want to make a perfect scene to remember their official date." Ren replied calmly, just finishing the last touches to his suit.

"I think you are right; so, are you going to assist to this dance?" Nora asked, worried about not being invited, and seeing Ren checking his formal suit.

"Only if my date stops losing her time with junk food, and gets her dress ready in time." Ren answered, calmly, and making Nora throw away her bag of potato chips away, dashing to the closet to see if the dress was still intact and fit for use; Ren may not have invited her directly, but she had to remember that they had done everything together since, well, always.

In the gardens, Weiss and Mitsuhide were trying to enjoy a cup of tea; playing like a forced couple had become even harder with the approaching dance, as Mitsuhide had to turn down a dozen of invitations, all while Weiss was left seething at such occurrence; Mitsuhide had a hard time too, as more than one had approached the ice princess in hopes of swaying her choice of partner.

"Ah! Finally found you!" Both Weiss and Mitsuhide couldn't help but to turn at the origin of the voice, just to find Sun, of all people, waving at them.

"Hey buddy, I was wondering if you…" Sun began his question, just for Mitsuhide to go into the offensive.

"I'm already taken." Mitsuhide's answer had Sun gapping like a fish out of the water for a few seconds, unable to form coherent thought to answer back, then he regained composure.

"NO! I wasn't going to ask you out!" Sun finally defended, trying to convey as much repugnance as possible.

"Thank goodness." Both Weiss and Mitsuhide said at the same time, making Sun boil in anger, still, he didn't show it openly.

"Actually, I just wanted to ask Weiss…" Sun tried again, this time the ice princess replied faster than a meteor, but colder than an iceberg.

"No, just no." Weiss replied, taking a small sip from her cup, leaving Sun with a bewildered expression.

"At least let me finish! I just wanted to ask if you could go to the dance with my partner, Neptune. Poor guy is rather shy and is rather scared of asking you himself." Sun explained while pointing to where Neptune was… apparently hitting on two girls at the same time…

"What do you really want?" Mitsuhide finally asked, annoyed by the unnecessarily long interruption.

"Fine… I just wanted one of you to talk on my behalf with Blake, maybe even getting me a moment to talk to her in private; to at least tell her that I'm sorry." Sun admitted, trying to convince them through good will; he was understandably puzzled when Weiss placed a butter knife on his hand…

"Here, stab yourself with this to death; it'll be easier, faster, and far less painful than what will happen to you if you try to get close to my teammate." Weiss explained, leaving Sun even worse than before.

Cinder and her group, however, were making different preparatives…

"Are you two ready?" Cinder asked to her lackeys, while still making the final touches on her combat clothes; a fine cat suit filled with red dust lines to be used as weapons at a moment notice, all of it built in a way that when the dust finally runs out, it'll unfold into a beautiful dress, ready to blend in when her mission finishes.

"Yes; dress clean and ready, and tablets for the migraine. I can only cover you up at the entrance and against a very small number of curious people; you need to remember to be discrete when you enter though." Emerald replied, looking at herself on the mirror, practicing gestures, and even smiling.

"Don't forget the anti-conceptive; you never know when you'll need them." Mercury cut in, making Emerald go ballistic.

"Shut up, you son of a bitch!" Emerald shouted, apparently highly offended by his commentary.

"Hey! Calm down! The doctor said they would help you greatly if the pain becomes too much; besides, what if you really manage to seduce the monk with that sexy dress of yours?" Mercury shot back, being half serious, and half continuing with his teasing.

"I don't need them, on neither case." Emerald said with a low hiss, and then returned to her practice.

"As for myself, I'm ready. I'm on the clear about the pranks, and on the clear on the medical checkup, which means I can already medicate myself appropriately." Mercury said while waving a tiny plastic bag with a white powder inside, making the other two panic at his antics.

"Holy shit! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Hide that already!" Emerald shouted in absolute distress.

"Mercury…" Cinder's low voice was enough warning for the assassin, who instantly placed his stash in a small compartment oh his leg.

"Geez! Calm down, nobody is going to find about it, ok? Besides, you know very well that this is the only medicine that works for me." Mercury said defensively, making the others shook their heads.

"Whatever, just remember to stick to the plan; getting the patrol schedules was not easy, and we have a very small window of time to act, there won't be another chance, and I'll make you two pay if this goes wrong, did you understand?" Cinder finally said; inside, however, she began to feel that something was wrong. Emerald had taken to this seduction mission with strange focus, like she really meant to keep the priest as her lover, that's why Cinder had not shared her plan on killing him, yet; Mercury had become more desperate as of late, as if his lose to the priest had caused the pain of his prosthetics to resurface, in fact, he almost didn't make it to the latest date of purchasing his damned 'Angel Dust'; the damned thing was a guaranteed shot in the head should he is ever found to have even the smallest spec on his person, let alone the five bags he purchased… that alone would surely catch the attention of the local crime lords.

' _Good thing the mission is going so smooth; I'll have to eliminate Mercury at the end though… maybe Emerald too.'_ Cinder thought at the end, hopping to finish the mission without any more troubles… without having to face the priest or the silver eyed girl in their full power.

Later that night…

"Don't worry, Nobu; everything is going to be ok!" Blake said to her boyfriend with a rather wide grin, her spirit had been lifted greatly with what they had achieved, and she felt even more comfortable around her boyfriend, clearly seeing a bright future as wife and husband.

"Yes, I know, you did most of the choosing after all." Nobunaga said a little bit dejectedly, for he had wanted to score another victory for himself, instead, Blake was the one to claim it.

"Hey, you made the first choice, and that helped greatly to make the full list of preparations." Blake said while pinching his cheek.

"Don't lie to my face…" Nobunaga said as they reached their rooms, ready to call it a day.

"Seriously, don't do it. I don't want to spend the entire night listening to his ramblings about your ordeal." Mitsuhide said from behind them, also ready to turn in for the night, although not to be separated from Weiss.

"Let's not discuss this right now; I want to kiss Ruby good night before the night ends." Kanetsugu said with a slightly heavy voice; as it turned out, he had to reject quite a sizable amount of girls that had the wrong idea when Ruby was not found at his side; Penny and her team had helped greatly to keep them at bay though.

"Of course." Weiss replied, and then went to open the door to her room; she and Blake found Yang and Ranmaru still practicing their dance moves, thing that had the ice princes rooted on her spot. Blake, being more used to their antics, ignored them and went to her bed, ready to read a little more of her favorite book before swimming in erotic dreams… except that she didn't found the book where she left it; she quickly looked every direction, until her eyes fell on one angry looking Ruby Rose.

"Ruby, is that my book?" Blake shyly asked, knowing that the boys were just outside, and obviously able to hear them. Ruby was not amused, the book had been quite misleading, having not enough ninja action, poorly interpreted love, and way too graphic lewd scenes; she had to admit that some of that had been quite informative, but when she got to a scene that was strikingly similar to what the mint haired thief had shown her, she had had enough.

"This is filth! FILTH!" Ruby shouted while pushing Blake onto her bed, earning a surprised 'eep' from the catgirl.

"Can I have my book back?" Blake meekly asked from behind her pillow, clearly scared of her team leader.

"LATER!" Ruby answered, knowing that now she had a way to explain what was shown to her by the thief…

Next day, at the party reception…

Nobunaga and Blake were dressed in a way that was as elegant as it was strange for most people, the first in a daimyo style suit, with a white hakama and black haori and gi, the symbols of the Oda clan beautifully adorned the back and shoulder clothes, and silk tabi covered his feet; the second sported a midnight black yukata, with a highly elaborated obi, instead of using her black flame symbol she decided to add the Oda crest to her back, as if declaring her and her boyfriend family already.

"See? I told you that it would work." Blake said with no little amusement on her voice; truth is, she had been a little bit nervous about the whole thing, because she had given in her desire to have an Edo style party, instead of a more traditional one; much to her surprise, the entire staff, local students, and a sizable amount of outsiders had been delected with the exotic selection of ornaments and food.

"I never doubted your judgment, my love. I'm worried about what Yang and Ranmaru may do tonight." Nobunaga honestly replied, knowing that he had committed a most grievous mistake; he had left Ranmaru unsupervised, working together with someone who had even less self-restraint than him.

In the small stage, Yang and Ranmaru were in charge of selecting the musical pieces that were being played, starting by typical music of the kingdom, to set the mood, and placing a few recordings of Kanetsugu playing instruments; the poor guy blushed when he noticed his skills being made public, fearing the mockery of his self proclaimed amateurish attempts to imitate his fabled Lady Aya, but the general public seemed delighted by the notes being played. Yang dress was a yellow yukata with a red obi, with orange leaves adorning the fabric, while Ranmaru had a lilac yukata with a white obi, and delicate pink leaves adorned the fabric of his garment… needless to say, all the outsiders were already drooling at their combined beauty.

"Well, this is a very interesting party!" Both Nobunaga and Blake turned to see the newcomers, finding them to be Emerald and her two teammates.

"I'm glad you like it; please sign the book and enjoy yourselves." Blake told the trio with a delighted voice, obviously proud of having selected this theme.

"If you have any question about the food or the ornaments, feel free to ask anyone from the cult of love, they are the ones dressed Edo style." Nobunaga added, softly smiling and bowing to them.

"Will do." Mercury replied, and then turned to go deeper into the saloon, along the two girls. Nobunaga and Blake grinned at each other, and then motioned for Velvet and Yatsuhashi to come closer, both had been at a close distance, seemingly unaware of who entered the party.

"So, what do you think of our last three guests?" Nobunaga asked with a knowing smile.

"That they were only two." Velvet replied, and then turned to leave with her boyfriend, knowing that her part of the plan had been covered, not that she was aware of the reach of said plan.

"Then to the second step." Blake said with a low voice, sending a small text message to both Ruby and Weiss.

Deep within the room, Ruby and Kanetsugu were standing in awkward silence, not really knowing how to proceed with each other, but still holding hands like kids in love; she was dressed in a beautiful crimson yukata with a black obi, it was a plain design, although she still sported a red rose figure in the black of the obi; he had opted for a white hakama and gi, sporting the Uesugi crest at his back.

"Kanetsugu. Do you think we could talk about… you know what?" Ruby shyly asked, referring to the contents of the book she had shown to the priest, and how she had been curious about them. Kanetsugu didn't had time to reply though, as Ruby's scroll pinged, and showed an expected message.

"Yes, let's go to the balcony, so we can talk in private." Kanetsugu said, being both honest, and making an excuse to have a better line of view; soon both were at the closest balcony, where they would have enough privacy to talk, and an open enough view to survey one of the possible routes for the infiltrator.

"So?" Ruby made an attempt to start, but after remembering how much he had blushed and stammered the night prior, she was afraid of pushing the issue.

"I love you, with all my heart. I want you to be my wife, and I desire you to give birth to my children. I just don't know how to tackle the issue right now, because I want to marry you first before making you a mother." Kanetsugu explained, blushing just as much as the last time they discussed this, while trying to convey her that he was also wishing to be more intimate.

"Well. We don't have to start making children on the first go…" Ruby shyly said, not really knowing where she was going.

"We don't?" Kanetsugu asked in honest confusion, however, their conversation was immediately interrupted, because his hand had shot toward a faraway rooftop, signaling something out of place; Ruby knew better than to ask, for she knew that Kanetsugu was more than a master of divination, she simply followed the hand, and noticed a feminine silhouette running and jumping toward the general direction of the CIT.

"Time to warn the others." Ruby said, and then texted back to Blake and Weiss; after that, both her and her boyfriend entered the room once more, seemingly uncaring about the exterior, and deciding to continue their conversation at a later date.

"It's time for the main event, Nobu." Blake cryptically said as she checked her scroll, as if checking the hour; Nobunaga simply gave a nod to Ranmaru, who despite the distance and the noise, caught on immediately.

In a moment, the music stopped, and the lights dimmed; a set of two stronger lights illuminated the stage, making both Yang and Ranmaru look radiant beyond measure, both had microphones in hand, and then, without the need of a signal, music began to play.

 **=Start song: "Lapis Lazuli" by AmaLee and Miku-Tan=**

The moment the words began to leave their lips at the rhythm of the music, they gained everyone's attention, from the local students to the outsiders, from the academy's staff, to the visiting atlesian soldiers; then they began their slow dance, which made contrast with the mildly fast song, and still, it blend perfectly in the eyes and ears of everyone present, and by the end of the first set of verses, they had everyone enthralled.

"Emerald, Mercury, how is everything in your side?" Cinder asked through her scroll, not failing to notice the sweet song in background noise.

" _ **Everyone is here, nothing out of the ordinary."**_ Emerald reported, failing to mention that she couldn't take her eyes from the singing duo, failing to notice that the Schnee heiress and her toy boy had disappeared behind a curtain.

"Good, keep an eye on our primary targets; the schedule was right, so I won't take long." Cinder said back, almost growling at hearing a dismissive grunt in reply.

Cinder moved in as soon as the guards had left the scene, leaving only the dumb robots to keep the place secure; she knew exactly how to deal with them, because their programming forbid them from attacking humans without first obeying protocol.

"Intruder. Identify yourself." The first robot demanded as it showed his in-built weapons, not loading them until the target had had a chance to properly get close for identification, something that Cinder used to cut its head in a single move; the other two followed suit soon enough, leaving the way clear for the eye of the Abyss.

"Now I understand why Nobunaga suggested that there were no human guards; I don't think she would have shown hesitation to eliminate them." Weiss muttered to her boyfriend, both where watching the scene from a close by rooftop.

"You are giving him too much credit, but you are right, it was for the best; now let's get closer, we have very little time before she reaches the top floor." Mitsuhide said as they made their way to the tower, using Weiss' glyphs to make uncanny jumps, reaching one of the top floor windows just as the woman exited the elevator.

"There she is; now let's place a scroll here to record what she does." Weiss said, and then they secured Mitsuhide's scroll to the corner of the window with a little bit of duct tape, leaving only the lens of the camera looking through the window, to minimize the risk of being discovered.

They watched Cinder calmly walking to the main computer, inserting her scroll in the slot, and then calmly typing commands; then they watched her tense, and they knew they had to jump away from her field of vision. Cinder stood up quickly, and turned around to look at her surroundings; she hadn't like that sensation, of being watched and judged, but after finding nothing out of place, and no one at the windows, she relaxed and went back to work, knowing that there was no time to lose.

"Are you ok?" Mitsuhide asked to a now eye wide Weiss, who was looking intently at him, and then at something behind him.

"You… have wings… they are beautiful." Weiss dreamily said, slightly startling the samurai; in their haste to jump away, she had slipped, and fallen of the edge, startled enough to not summon her glyph, and of course, he jumped after her, wishing with all his heart to stop her falling, to save her; his soul had answered by forming wings of pure aura, developing his semblance in their moment of need.

"It seems love gave them to me, so you can smile." Mitsuhide answered, in a poor attempt to distract her from the fact that he barely knew how to use them, besides to slow down their fall to the ground.

Inside the CIT, Cinder began to feel pressure; the data transfer was almost complete, the time for the guard shift was upon her, and the open communication with her lackeys was absent of their voices, with only that awfully sweet song to make her company.

"I'm almost done here, anything to report?" Cinder asked in an unnecessarily harsh tone, as if attempting to remember them that anything could go wrong in such a critical moment.

" _ **Nothing to report… oh! They kissed…"**_ Mercury reported back, going so far as to describe what he was seeing, as apparently the singers decided to kiss during a music solo… that had her about to burst in flames.

 **=End of the Song=**

It took a few more seconds for her job to be finished, and in that instant, she took her scroll, and make her way to the exit, getting to the main gate just when the next set of guards were seen in the distance; she made a fast retreat, knowing that she had to be seen in the dance before the guards had a chance to report to Ironwood. She never noticed the two sets of eyes following her, nor the winged figure flying ahead of her and into the tower where the dance was being held.

By the time she changed her dress, and had reached her lackeys, the damned song was long finished, and a sedated paced dance was taking place; she watched with delight how Ironwood seemed to receive a sudden call, just to excuse himself and leave the area with haste.

"May I?" Cinder interrupted Emerald and mercury on their dace, much to the relief of the mint haired thief.

"Of course." Emerald replied, and then went to get something to drink.

"So, how was your night?" Mercury asked softly, trying to sound charming, not noticing Cinder scanning the area, trying to identify all the objectives; she was about to freak out due to not seeing the heiress and her toy boy, when they suddenly fell from behind a curtain, with their clothes disheveled.

"It was just perfect, all according to the plan." Cinder finally answered, finally enjoying a moment of peace; she will scold her minions though, as she didn't like how distracted they sounded.

In the background, surveying everything that was happening, Nobunaga and Blake smiled in real satisfaction, knowing that pointless deaths had been avoided, and that the bad guys had been finally discovered.

"So, everything is according to the plan?" Blake asked, while offering her hand to her beloved boyfriend.

"Everything is according to the plan." Nobunaga replied while taking her hand, joining her in a slow and pleasant dance; they enjoyed the night, seeing their friends dancing, and their enemies being drowned in ignorance, the question was left in the air though; who was the real evil, and who was the villain?

* * *

 **Magnus:** I seriously suggest you to hear the song mentioned in this chapter, its beautiful; also, you may even imagine who is voicing who! Leave a like in their video too, that is some amazing singing.


	26. Divine Touch

**Magnus:** Here comes the new chapter, this time with a much anticipated reaction, enjoy! And remember: Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** I hate Jaune, but for the sake of this story, I'm allowing him to have a happy ending

* * *

 **Chapter 26**

 **Divine Touch**

The dance had ended well for everyone, couples were leaving the hall, and the staff was starting with the cleaning, leaving only the headmaster, his deputy, the General and both teams RWBY and NKRA at the entrance of the hall.

"I have to admit that I didn't think you could actually make things happen exactly as you said." General Ironwood admitted with all honesty; however, he wasn't talking about the dance.

"I don't know if to feel at ease at you capability for planning, or utterly terrified." Ozpin said in a rather unfriendly tone, although not enough to sound aggressive, although his deputy still frowned at him for his wording.

"General, headmaster; everything that happened tonight, was planned and carried on with the sole purpose of seeing my fiancée happy, and her dreams come true." Nobunaga replied while tenderly hugging Blake, who sported a full body blush at the praise and sweet words of love.

"Fiancée? Already planning that far?" Glynda asked with a blush of her own, feeling a little envious for not having such experience when she was a student herself.

"Why far? We can hold dual weddings when Kanetsugu's religion gets approved, right?" Yang suddenly asked, holding and snuggling Ranmaru, giving the impression of the guy being the girl in the relationship.

"As true as that is, we won't be able to do such things until we finish our divine task first." Kanetsugu had to remember them all of the impending confrontation with the Abyss; even so, he was the one who looked forward the future with more enthusiasm.

"You are right, and that's why I have to ask you to come with us, Kanetsugu; it is time that you meet the child we spoke of before." Ozpin suddenly said, making the general go serious, and Glynda to give a serious nod.

"I understand." Kanetsugu replied, feeling that this meeting had been delayed way too much, and still wondering how such a person could have been brought without him, or the abyss, noticing.

"We are going to meet a new friend!" Ruby childishly said, making the room be more illuminated than before.

"Unfortunately, this is something that must be private; we already told you that only Kanetsugu would be allowed to come." The general interrupted, making the others wary.

"That won't do. Kanetsugu, his input, wisdom and knowledge are vital to our endeavor, just as my skill in planning; we all had agreed that anyone of us moving alone would be most unwise, and dangerous." Nobunaga immediately cut in, knowing that the headmaster no doubt would try to sway Kanetsugu's view to align with him.

"I understand your reasons, but believe me; the child is not ready to meet anyone else besides Kanetsugu." Ozpin calmly replied, hopping to play the correct words to mislead the visionary.

"You know, Ozpin; maybe we should allow an extra person. You explained quite well to me that this brilliant priest is rather… easily unsettled by technology." Ironwood suddenly said, making Ozpin face palm, and Glynda to rub her forehead.

"Oh, Oum! I had totally forgotten about that. Ozpin, I agree with Ironwood on this; Kanetsugu is going to need some sort of… support." Glynda said in a worried tone, well aware of Kanetsugu's apparent phobia to technology.

"Fine, but just one person; you know this is… sensitive." Ozpin said after a long sigh, knowing that they were right.

"Ok, I'll…" Ruby began to volunteer, ready to bring support to her beloved boyfriend, but was interrupted.

"I'll go; Ruby, I know you really want to go, but this will require my immediate input." Nobunaga interjected, making Blake immediately grab Ruby's shoulder in support.

"You?" Ozpin asked in a rather hostile way.

"I do believe that you want to protect this child, so I do believe you want to keep this as a single meeting; if I'm correct, then the planning needs to be done on site, so the child can return to safety as soon as possible." Nobunaga explained, having the idea that such a person had to be kept safe at all costs; the adults looked at each other briefly, and then nodded.

"Very well, you two may come; but be ready to remain calm at what you'll see." Ozpin warned them, and then guided the two boys to the elevator, leaving the rest of both teams to finish what they were doing.

Meanwhile…

Emerald and Mercury were currently on a mission; Cinder had ordered them to survey the shrine of love, and demanded them to vandalize it once more should it show any signs of recovering, this time, using Vacuo symbols to increase the negative energy.

"Do you really think they can rebuild that fast? I mean, most of that art looked ridiculously expensive." Mercury asked, not worried about finding many people in the hallways, as most would be in their dorms by now, or secluded in pairs in some dark corner for some quality time with their dates.

"I'm not sure, in fact, as expensive as that looked, I don't remember seeing those at any museum or art collection; they may have been unique and invaluable Edo art pieces, or they could be the work of the priest himself. We have our orders though, so, do you have your paint cans ready?" Emerald replied, while making sure that her partner was appropriately equipped.

"Yup! Black and red spry cans, ready to spill some fun." Mercury replied while reaching the corner, ready to meet any possible pair that may heve been forced to stay guard…

"Spry cans for what?" The voice of a young teacher made them come to a crashing halt, for the shrine was guarded by no other than Professor Peach, and three janitors.

"AH! Professor! We had no idea you were up this late!" Emerald was more than startled, this was way too close to be caught red handed, and by having so many people focused on her, using her semblance was out of question.

"And you are supposed to be in your room, on the guest's wing. Now, hand over those cans, and begin explaining." Professor Peach demanded, sounding angrier with each passing second; she had been known to be one of the most outspoken members of the cult of The Voice of the Heavens, and when the shrine got defiled, she turned from her almost meek person, to a ferocious faunus predator; only Kanetsugu had been able to calm her down, and for good or ill, he was not anywhere close to do that again.

Secret Vault, undisclosed depth below Beacon Academy…

The entire trip had been a rather novel experience, for watching the priest becoming unsettled with each passing second had been an eye opener for the adults. Ironwood now knew that trying to recruit him for his kingdom was out of question, as the poor guy would turn exceedingly inefficient within the military bases, cowering in fear whenever anything made whirling sounds of any kind; Ozpin now believed that keeping him at the school would be far less efficient than granting him a temple outside the city walls, he already began to think in possible locations to have the main temple of his religion; Glynda simply felt pity for the young guy, who would have to deal with a lot of techno-junk thanks to the gun loving girl that would never leave his side; Nobunaga felt very worried, because he knew that while Kanetugu was quite incompetent at dealing with technology, he had no real fear of it, he wondered though, what kind of thing would unsettle the one who kicked the ass of the one and only Demon King?

"What is this place?" Nobunaga asked when the door opened, revealing a cavernous chamber, reminiscent of a temple of the other lands he visited on his youth.

"Here is where the child of light and magic resides; here is where we are keeping her safe." Glynda replied, walking forward, guiding the boys.

"Her? So, she has been always here?" Nobunaga asked, with discomfort evident on his voice, more worried at Kanetsugu's silence.

"You need to know that she is not in good health; the Abyss got to her some time before your arrival, so you are not at fault for her condition. You need to know, that we hope that your intervention can help us to save her." Ozpin said, just as they reached the pods, where the youngsters saw a young woman inside one of them, dressed only on her undergarments, seemingly asleep, but her expression was not serene.

"Due to her condition, extreme measures had to be taken; that is why I expended a lot of resources on this device, so…" Ironwood began his explanation, obviously trying to convey how useful his help was, but Kanetsugu couldn't contain himself anymore.

"This is wrong." Kanetsugu said while walking to get closer to the occupied pod.

"We know. Her condition…" Glynda began to say, but Kanetsugu was at his limit.

"THIS IS WRONG!" Kanetsugu shouted as he touched the glass that was separating him from the young woman; everyone noticed her starting to stir.

"Impossible…" Ironwood muttered at the sight; he had been reported that in her comatose state, the Autumn Maiden was unable to react to any and all stimuli, hence the need for a stasis pod.

"Kanetsugu?" Nobunaga asked to his teammate, completely unsure at how to proceed with the current situation; he cursed himself for not allowing Ruby to tag along, for she certainly would be more acquainted with these machines than him.

"SHE IS SUFFERING! AND THIS ABOMINATION IS MAKING IT WORSE!" Kanetsugu screamed in rage, turning around to face everyone else, making them step back at the intensity of his glare; he may not have silver eyes, but his eyes were certainly glowing with what appeared to be divine fury.

"That machine is the only thing keeping her alive!" Ironwood defended, showing his pride before his common sense.

"IT'S HURTING HER SOUL!" Kanetsugu screamed once more, making everyone feel the air trembling with his voice.

"Kanetsugu, do you know how to help her?" Glynda suddenly asked, believing that if Amber reacted to the talisman, then she may be healed to some degree by the source itself.

"Yes! Open this abominable thing already!" Kanetsugu replied, with less anger, but no less power on his voice; the woman seemed to begin to react, albeit with minimal movements of her eyelids.

"James, can we open the pod, even if it is only for a moment?" Ozpin asked, already seeing the potential in allowing Kanetsugu to act; while he doubted a miraculous recovery, giving her more strength would surely hurt the one who tried to steal her powers, making it easier to ensure the rise of the new maiden.

"No, sudden exposure to the ambient may cause some damage, and we also need the group of scientist to…" Ironwood began to explain, but Kanetsugu simply wasn't willing to wait.

"Nobunaga! Take her out already!" Kanetsugu commanded in a way that felt like a god about to go on a rampage, making the visionary obey out of primordial fear; in an instant, the visionary turned into a cloud of formless darkness, entering the pod with no difficulty at all, and once it engulfed the woman, the cloud exited it, and placed the woman in the floor, in front of Kanetsugu; the cloud reformed as Nobunaga just behind the combat instructor, almost as if fearing what may come next.

"WHAT AND HOW?!" Ironwood screamed in sheer horror; if his perfectly secured and sealed device could be bypassed so easily, then the visionary was far more dangerous than what Ozpin claimed him to be.

"Don't worry, my dear child, I'm here to heal you, to end whatever foul sorcery was cast on you." Kanetsugu softly said to the woman, and then took a rather large amount of paper charms from below his clothes; he threw them forward, but they began to circle him, half of the paper charms went to the floor, forming a perfect circle around him and the seasonal maiden, while the other half went up, and ket floating in place, completing a cylinder.

"How is he doing that?" Ozpin quietly asked to no one, noticing how the air was now filled with magic, aura and sheer willpower; at his side, Ironwood began to clutch his side, as his robotic parts were beginning to react to the impossibly large amount of energy in the air.

"Someone is going to regret this… dearly so…" Nobunaga slowly said while moving behind the closest pillar; soon Ozpin and Ironwood followed suit, leaving Glynda in her spot, as she seemed less bothered by what was happening… then the priest began to chant in Edo tongue.

At the same time…

Cinder was alone in her room, basking in much needed solace; she hated this place, this academy, because for some reason, there seemed to be too much 'light'; she had no doubt that this cult of love had a lot to do with that, and she had become wary of her own lackeys, because the one she relied the most, was growing awfully close to the one who was anathema.

"It doesn't matter, I can get even better lackeys once I get the power I deserve; nothing will ever…" Cinder was still on her monologue when it happened; a sudden pain assaulted her, making her clutch her chest and fall to her knees.

Cinder felt searing claws grasping her heart, moving without mercy, tearing apart her insides; two times she tried to scream for help, but only strangled were able to come out of her mouth; soon she began to hit her head with the floor, in a vain attempt to ease the pain, the she felt how 'something' was leaving her body, like vital essence, but it wasn't hers. Cinder understood, much to her horror, what was happening; the Maiden was reclaiming her soul and powers, and by the looks of it, there was nothing much to do; Cinder tried to fight back, to summon all her will power, just to vomit black blood in front of her.

' _Not like this! NOT LIKE THIS!'_ Cinder thought in despair as weakness invaded her body, she was abandoning all hope too quickly, cursing the world for not allowing her to enjoy those sweet powers a little more; then she saw a tarantula-like grimm form from her blood, just for it to leap at her with fangs at the ready…

Back at the vault…

Glynda had watched the whole ordeal, frozen in her spot; Amber had begun to toss around, and then loudly gasped for air, opening her eyes, still partially veiled to the world surrounding her, but still conscious.

"DADDY!" The maiden screamed, fear and pain evident on her voice, and then, the paper charms all bursted into flames, ending Kanetsugu's work.

"Oh OUM!" Glynda shouted, and then ran to the said of the young woman, quickly covering her with her cape.

"Is it over?" Nobunaga quietly asked while looking from the corner of the pillar, his two companions were too scared to even go that far.

"The grasp of the Abyss was cut; the witchcraft is no more, but…" Kanetsugu sadly answered, knowing that he wasn't able to fully reverse the abominable sorcery cast upon the child of light and magic.

"Daddy, I'm so sorry, they stole the gift you so tenderly gave me…" The young woman said, obviously in some kind of trance, as if trapped in an old memory that may not even be her own, like an echo of someone other than her.

"Don't worry, child; rest and recover your body, rest and heal your soul, your gift is yours for a reason, and it'll return to you, I promise." Kanetsugu said while patting the head of the young woman.

"Thanks, daddy…" The maiden replied, and then went into a peaceful slumber, finally sleeping in comfort, and not in the awful comatose state.

"Oh, Amber…" Glynda said with sorrow, while hugging the young woman with tender care.

"She called you 'daddy'… just… who are you?" Ironwood asked as he approached the scene, eyes wide open, and mouth dry; it was no longer about his technology being beaten, this has gone far beyond what the legends told about.

"No doubt Kenshin was struck down by the heavens; you were the true god in that clan!" Nobunaga said as he got closer, closely followed by Ozpin.

"Nobunaga…" Kanetsugu said as he turned around to face the group of males, looking at them with glowing eyes, and an intense stare that made them give a step back.

"You know who is responsible for this, don't you? Tell me where this hannya is!" Kanetsugu asked as he closed the distance with the visionary, ending the demand by holding him by the collar, and lifting him a few inches from the ground.

"I may have an idea… yes… but… would you sacrifice Ruby… for this?" Nobunaga replied, grasping for air as he battled the overwhelming fear that was eating him; Ozpin and Ironwood were rooted in their spot, one began to believe that Kanetsugu was actually of divine origin, while the other thought that the one who had given the powers to the maidens had finally revealed himself.

"I… I will…" Kanetsugu mumbled as he lowered the visionary, much to Ozpin's disappointment; the priest looked troubled, as if he had been faced with an impossible decision.

"I'm not demanding you to sacrifice anything, or anyone; I want you to understand that completing this act of kindness may lead to disgrace and suffering if done without thinking. The turn of the seasons is upon us, the Abyss will strike soon, and then, you'll be allowed to take its head, and secure the future of both your soon to be wife, and this child; please, for the well being of the white knights, and the three candles, hold the reins of your heart for a little longer." Nobunaga explained, making full use of his skills to control the situation; Ozpin barely resisted the urge to growl, not because he really wanted Kanetsugu to kill the visionary, but because he found that level of manipulation way too dangerous to leave be.

"I… I understand. Now do what you do best, and ensure the safety of this child." Kanetsugu finally said, leaving ground for Nobunaga to do his scheming.

Back with Cinder…

" **You were careless, and you've paid for it."** The distorted female voice came from the tarantula, which was looking at the still pained Cinder.

" **Fortunately I was able to stop the flow of magic, you still have the powers of the maiden within you; but, without her soul, they will tear apart your body should you try to use them for an extended period of time, did you understand?"** The tarantula kept talking, earning a quick nod from the pained usurper.

" **The plan has not changed, you will continue in the current path, and kill the maiden to absorb both the soul and the rest of her powers. Do not fail me."** The tarantula finished, and then went to the puddle of blood that spawned it, and dissolved itself into it.

"I will not fail." Cinder finally said through labored breath; she truly wanted the bitch dead now, so she could torture her soul while enjoying such glorious power.

The next day…

The day after the dance was declared a day off, not only because it was the weekend, but because many were rather indisposed to do anything that required mental capabilities…

"Say aaahhhh…" Pyrrha said while trying to hand feed Jaune; she looked giddy, childish, and smiling like an idiot; no one dared to ask why, although by the way she walked, many had taken a rather accurate guess.

"Fine, you can do whatever you want." Ren said in his usual stoic voice, just to have Nora sit on his lap; that in itself didn't surprise anyone, as everyone was expecting them to throw away the sibling charade long ago, what came at a surprise is that Nora was acting strange, she was silent, moving as little as possible, and limiting herself to only lightly tug on Ren's clothes for any demand… no one wanted to know how he did that.

"… _**the authorities are currently investigating a case of vandalism in the CIT; apparently some student, either local or foreigner, decided to take a shot at the robots stationed at the gate of the tower. No damage or theft has been confirmed from the inside of the installations, which at least makes this a non terrorist attack…"**_ Lisa Lavender continued her report on the wide screen, making Cinder sigh in relief, feeling safe at knowing that at least that part of her plan had gone without trouble.

"I hate school…" Emerald said, still poking her food while Mercury kept his head on the table, looking like a beaten weakling.

"I told you to be discrete." Cinder limited herself to say a minor scolding; their capture, lecture, and punishment had given her enough time to clean up the room and herself, as well as given her the chance of partially recover; they may be her lackeys, but she was very well aware that showing weaknesses would cause them to defect, betray her, or downright try to replace her.

"An entire week of dish washing duty… it just isn't fair." Emerald continued, this time trying to stab her food; in his spot, Mercury groaned in absolute distress, because all of the cooks were chubby ladies, meaning no distractions whatsoever.

"Could have been worse, like being linked to what happened to the shrine." Cinder continued, hiding the extra meaning, because if that had happened, she would have killed them herself.

Within team RWBY's room…

Teams RWBY and NKRA were well rested, but not really relaxed; the girls were informed of what happened last night, of what Nobunaga and Kanetsugu had gone through, that had lead to them spending the night like couples, with Ruby, Weiss, Kanetsugu and Mitsuhide in team RWBY's room, and Blake, Yang, Nobunaga and Ranmaru in team NKRA's room; they felt very well, but very wary.

"So far, everything is going according to plan; our enemies are unaware of our knowledge and preparation, the general is currently checking the CIT and the footage recovered from Mitsuhide's scroll, and the headmaster and Glynda-sensei are making sure that the child is being properly nursed back to health." Nobunaga reported, getting mixed feelings from everyone; the girls had expected to find the candles before anything happened to them, and to learn that one had been already attacked made them sad, especially when they learned the truth, that the seasonal maidens existed.

"What is the next step? We can't remain in waiting until the Abyss comes; we need to do something to prevent it from coming at full strength." Ruby said, sounding rather angry; she had agreed with her boyfriend in the need to strike back, and found sad that because of her, he couldn't go on a hunt of the one who hurt the maiden.

"Don't worry, Ruby; we won't stay inactive. As all of you know, starting the week we'll be assigned a professional hunter to go on our first mission; we'll use this to raid one of the operations of the agents of the Abyss. Kanetsugu, do you have a divination technique that would allow us to convince the headmaster to authorize a mission to a specific place?" Nobunaga stated, making his petition at the end, much to Kanetsugu's distress.

"Yes… I have something that may work… but I won't be fit for anything afterwards… for the whole day." Kanetsugu replied, making Ruby frown in worry.

"Are you going to get hurt?" Ruby asked in full worry, earning apologetic eyes from her boyfriend.

"No, not hurt… just… you'll see, and sorry in advance for… well, you'll see." Kanetsugu stumbled on his talk, earning worried glances.

"Thanks to our scouting mission, we know that the White Fang has a big operation in the sout east borders." Blake suddenly added, loving to be of use, and putting her skills at the service of everyone's future.

"Also, our intelligence network has made reports of large quantities of weapons have been moved from warehouse to warehouse to the south east, which means that they are getting ready for an invasion, or a large attack." Ranmaru reported too, knowing that right now, every piece of information could be vital.

"Junior had new information too; the girls at the brothel mentioned a guy with metal legs trying to get more than what he paid for, and they even provided a picture! Junior wants this guy like, extra dead, because he saw him hitting on his girls before he entered our group." Yang added, showing a photograph of no other than Mercury Black, leaving no doubt that the whole team was made up of the agents of the Abyss.

"This is going extremely well… I hope you have ready some countermeasures, least we stumble with a pebble at the end of the road." Mitsuhide said as a warning, getting lightly elbowed by his girlfriend.

"Don't worry, Mitsuhide; we aren't running while blindfolded, we are moving step by step. Kanetsugu, with all this information will you have an easier time with the divination?" Nobunaga finished, knowing that right now, they could only wait until called to the headmaster's office.

"Maybe, I'm still apologizing in advance." Kanetsugu replied, forcing Ruby to start cuddling with him, as if trying to heal him before any damage could come his way. A sudden knock had everyone in high alert, and Ranmaru reaching for the door with a knife in hand.

"Yes?" Ranmaru greeted with his pleasant voice, ready to murder the other person at the least provocation.

"Mail for miss Rose and miss Xiao Long." The guy said, and then handed a small cylinder and a letter. Ranmaru handled them with caution, opening the letter himself, and then passing it to the sisters without the cylinder.

"Hey, it's from dad! He says that he is going out in a mission, and wants us to take care of Zwei." Yang said aloud, earning everyone's attention.

"Zwei?" Everyone asked aloud, except for Ruby, who took the cylinder from Ranmaru's hand, and opened it to spill the contents, which was a fluffy black cylinder, who instantly expanded into a black and white Corgi.

"Woof!" The Corgi made an adorable bark, directed to the sisters.

"ZWEI!" Ruby shouted in absolute happiness, proceeding to cuddle with the small dog.

"NO! MEOW!" Blake instantly screamed and jumped into her boyfriend, hugging him with both arms and legs to try to stay away from her natural enemy, meanwhile, Nobunaga took the only logical course of action, he proceeded to use his hand to give Blake better support, and of course, enjoyed his position for the time being.

"How in the world did that happen?!" Mitsuhide asked, alarmed at seeing such an impossible feat.

"Oh, he does things like this all the time." Yang dismissively said.

"Your father or your dog?" Ranmaru asked, concerned at the way the animal was handled.

"Are you saying that this mangy, drooling mutt is going to live with us forever? YES! YES! YES HE WILL!" Weiss suddenly added, starting like an upset high class lady, just to finish like a child in the face of a dearly wanted pet; Mitsuhide now knew that having a dog in the future would become mandatory… he secretly planned to name him, or her, Ranmaru.

"I guess we'll have to make a stop at the cafeteria for some food?" Ranmaru asked after he understood that there won't be an answer for his previous question.

"Hmm… the letter said he also sent enough food for Zwei." Yang replied, and then shook the cylinder again, making drop more dog food cans than it could possible contain, even with no dog inside it… the the can opener came out too.

"Ruby, does your father practice sorcery?" Kanetsugu asked with a frown, unable to understand how the poor animal was packed with all that to begin with; Ruby merely shrugged, and kept cuddling with the dog, with Weiss at her side, making baby noises to the corgi.

"Nobunaga Oda, your presence is required at the headmaster's office, please attend at once." Glynda's voice sounded through the intercom, signaling the beginning of the planification stage.

"That's our call, Kanetsugu; what do you need for the divination session?" Nobunaga asked, knowing that they will have to move with certain caution… his voice was muffled though, as he could not take his head from where it was.

"I need a large mirror… and a gourd of sake, or strong liquor." Kanetsugu replied with apprehension, surprising the others.

"We have a mirror!" Ruby said with a full body mirror already on her arms, and a determined face that said that she was going to accompany them this time.

"And here is a gourd of sake." Ranmaru said while placing the gourd on Blake's hand, not wanting to interrupt their touching session.

"Where did you get that alcohol?" Weiss asked as soon as the two couples were out of the room.

"Does that matter? Here hold Zwei while I open a can of food." Yang instantly intervened, making Weiss forget everything as soon as she got hold of the adorable dog; in the side lines, Mitsuhide reinforced his statement, a dog was going to be in the future for him and his girlfriend.

Headmaster's office, a little later…

"How is that going to help?" Ironwood asked as he saw the mirror and the gourd.

"Having doubts at this point?" Glynda asked with a cold and harsh tone, not liking how he doubted Kanetsugu's magic after everything he had seen.

"I am curious as well, since this is something we haven't seen in use." Ozpin added, making sure to convey that he had no doubts, just curiosity.

"You all will learn soon enough." Nobunaga replied, trying to hide the fact that he had no idea of what was going to happen.

"I must warn you all that this is something I won't be willing to repeat any time soon." Kanetsugu said as he sat in front of the mirror, which was placed flat in the floor, with the reflective surface pointing to the ceiling.

"Don't worry, Kanetsugu; hopefully this won't have to repeat ever again." Blake tried to bring comfort to the priest, but he only gave a shudder; Ruby and Glynda proceeded to darken the windows, setting the stage for the session.

"I'm going to regret this…" Kanetsugu said a final time, and then poured all the contents of the gourd in his mouth in a single go, earning the surprise of everyone present, for that was an awful lot of alcohol.

With a calm motion, Kanetsugu began to slowly spit the alcohol into the mirror, forming a luminous mist that never touched the surface, then, with his eyes still closed, he began to talk.

" **Far away, to the south-east, lies the city of the betrayed."** Kanetsugu spoke in a powerful voice, earning the gasps of everyone present, because the mist began to take a shape; a shape well known by the general, the headmaster and his deputy.

"MT Glenn…" Ironwood muttered.

"Oum preserve us!" Glynda muttered too, covering her mouth in the process, afraid of interrupting this miraculous display of magic; Ozpin remained silent, deeply focused in the art being performed, already seeing how advantageous this could become, as it defeated the cameras and scouts by a landslide.

" **Deep below, where the tomb of the innocents begins and ends; the enemies of peace, servants of the Abyss, are feeding their metal snake with fires of hate."** Kanetsugu continued, and the shape over the mirror changed, showing some kind of underground buildings, and even tiny humanoid shapes moving around what looked like a giant serpent or… a train.

" **Should they were to be left alone; their screeches of hate will bring ruin to the unsuspected."** Kanetsugu finished, morphing the image to take the shape of a plaza in Vale, full of innocents who were suddenly erased by some kind of wave… then the mist finally took shape of droplets, and fell over the mirror.

Silence reigned for a moment, and thoughts ran wild; one saw this as the ultimate tool of war, a way to spy the enemy anywhere, any time; other saw this as the perfect way to control the flow of events, a way to prevent the loss of hunters in the field, of knowing about the real situation behind an emergency call; two females, however, were worried for the silent priest. Kanetsugu tried to stand, just to fall face first forward, earning the screams of worry of the females present.

"Kanetsugu!" Ruby and Glynda screamed at the same time, rushing to the side of the battle monk; obviously Ruby was the first to cradle him on her arms.

"Aishiteru, Akako-chan." Kanetsugu spoke, obviously in Edo tongue, but where once a polite and regal voice was, only a slurred tone remained… then he began to nuzzle on Ruby's chest…

"Is he… drunk?" Glynda asked with caution, not knowing what to make of the scene.

"That actually explains quite a lot." Nobunaga said, thinking in battles long past and why his army hadn't been absolutely obliterated by the warrior of love.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Next chapter strats the mission to MT Glenn. Am I the only one who foresees a migraine for Dr Oobleck?


	27. Field Trip

**Magnus:** Here comes the new chapter, also, the last chapter of this year; due to the festivities, and visiting some dead relatives, I won't be able to update until January, so please, be patient. In the mean time, enjoy! And Remember: Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** I wish I owned a copy of Monster Rancer for the DS, I never had a chance to play it.

* * *

 **Chapter 27**

 **Field Trip**

Nobunaga was currently trying to convince Beacon's headmaster and Atlas' General to form a plan to his liking, and to follow it willingly; he had to admit that after the shock caused by Kanetsugu and his powerful divination, this was going to be much easier.

"I still believe that decisive action is required; I can form a strike force in just a couple of hours, and have 20 battle ships and five hundred soldiers raining on them by the next down." Ironwood kept his opinion voiced, wanting to be the greatest hero with the largest amount of glory.

"And then you'll have the Abyss aware of our knowledge; best case scenario, it'll find about our inside member, ending with the life of a valiant hero, and at worst, the Abyss will ponder about our capabilities, and will eventually find about Kanetsugu's divination, and will hide until he is no more, and you'll lose your kingdom in the next generation." Nobunaga refuted the general, going as far as to speak of a fatalistic future.

"That is without taking into consideration the panic you'll cause within my kingdom by mobilizing such a large force out of the blue; I don't think I have to tell you what happens when panic and fear reigns supreme within the people." Ozpin added, siding with the visionary in this move.

"So what? Are you suggesting that a single team will be enough?" Ironwood shot back, knowing beforehand that Ozpin woul love to use this opportunity to bring glory to the name of the hunters and his school.

"Two teams, actually; two teams that are fully aware of the situation and that are well prepared to face the opposition, do what is needed, and pretend it was all a coincidence." Nobunaga shot part of his plan, thing that Ozpin quickly caught on.

"That means two teams that ready to carry on with executions, that are capable of adapting to any kind of situation, and can understand the layout of the area." Ozpin said, knowing that it was better to have Ironwood defeated than to start an argument with his nemesis.

"You mean the tribesmen and the white knights? How are they better than a small unit of my specialists?" Ironwood asked, a little bit incensed for being left out of some glorious battle.

"For starters, planning and divination. As you attested before, Kanetsugu can give us a rather unfair advantage over our enemies, which in turn, with my skill at predicting the moves of the enemy, can lead to a swift and clean operation… well, maybe not clean in your point of view, but you get the idea." Nobunaga finished with a small chuckle, making Ozpin shook his head, and Ironwood to groan; the general was unable to deny the tactical advantage of Kanetsugu's divination, and that made him form plans to sway to views of the priest in his favor.

"Of course you'll have to be supervised by a professional hunter, one with dependable knowledge and skill." Ozpin cut in fast, both to assure the general of the seriousness of the mission, and to prevent Nobunaga from doing things entirely his way.

"And I expect you to select the very best, headmaster." Nobunaga replied in a neutral tone, not wanting to show either approval or disapproval to Ozpin's judgment.

"I still think we should use my army… anyway; since you are using your field missions for this strike, I'll focus on what that woman did on the CIT. My technicians have detected some unusual data flowing in the system, but had not been able to determine anything about it, but I have someone who would be able to crack it open, without alerting our enemies." Ironwood finally relented, while mentioning his plans for the CIT, as it was something that the priest wouldn't be able to help with.

"Very well, now let's focus on the details for the operation." Ozpin finished, knowing that everything had to be properly planned, including back up for teams RWBY and NKRA.

Meanwhile, at team RWBY's room…

Glynda Goodwitch volunteered to help the cheerful pair return to their rooms, more out of fear of an attack than fearing what a drunken Kanetsugu would do; in fact, on his drunken state, she even thought that the priest was finally vulnerable, meaning that it was more worrisome what the petite girl may do to him. Glynda Goodwitch had seen many couples on her years as a teacher, but that didn't prepare her for what happened when they reached the room…

"K-K-Kanetsugu! I'm ticklish there!" Ruby said between gasps, unable to contain the rather happy, if startled, sounds.

"Kawaii! Kawaii! KAWAII!" Kanetsugu kept repeating his mantra in a slurred voice, all while using his hands on a defenseless Ruby.

"Y-Your tongue! If you use it like that I'll… I'll…" Ruby said between gasps and giggles, unable to deal with the feelings provoked by Kanetsugu's actions, and yet unwilling to fight back.

Yang and Ranmaru were already in the room when Glynda helped the cheerful pair to arrive, and remained there to keep an eye on them; no one knew how to deal with the scene unfolding before them.

"I don't know if to feel relief or disappointment." Yang finally said, looking at Ruby and Kanetsugu simply snuggling and kissing.

"I know… you would have expected a drunken monk to be… well… less tame." Ranmaru said with dejection, for he had hoped to film the cheerful pair in some improper behavior.

"I'm not sure we should continue to watch…" Glynda added from her spot; she had told herself that she stayed only to keep an eye on the youngsters, to prevent any mishap, and yet she had hoped to see more, and not only Kanetsugu kissing Ruby's neck, licking her cheek, and nibbling her earlobes…

The day of the mission assignment…

The day started simple enough, with a lot of anticipation and a little bit of fear; breakfast was served in larger quantities, in advance for a poor lunch time, and several teams were making plans on where to go for their first mission…

"I still think we should pay a visit to your village, Jaune." Pyrrha said in a rather happy way, truly wanting to know such a large family, and see if she would gain their approval.

"No no! Ren's idea is much better!" Jaune was understandably scared, knowing that his family would make a mess, the kind of mess that would see him married and thrown into a desk job for the rest of his life; while he could agree to get married, the desk was enough to spook him for life.

"Thanks, I promise you'll enjoy; the sheriff is going to greet us with a feast!" Ren said in uncharacteristic happiness, not that it bothered the rest of the team.

"Please, tell me it won't be any pig." Pyrrha said in a low and pained voice.

"But what else are you going to serve in a wedding?" Nora asked in her usual playful tone, making Pyrrha grimace; the memory of the slaughter still fresh, and how she failed to pierce the heart of the little animal, prolonging the suffering to inhuman levels.

"Wedding? Who is getting married?" Jaune asked in honest confusion, not understanding how they could get that information.

"It doesn't matter!" Ren replied before Nora could say too much.

"Penny, are you sure this is right?" Ciel asked to her team leader, and source of headaches.

"Yes, I am. After what happened at the CIT, it's only natural for our team to follow the investigation and learn about the security protocols used in different kingdoms; seeking the truth about the events is also exciting in its own." Penny replied, not really lying, but not telling all the truth. She had been approached by the general after checking Mitsuhide's scroll, and she was tasked with the mission of hacking the data that the mysterious woman had uploaded into the network.

"She is not…" Leo began to come in Penny's defense, just as it had happened in what felt like an eternity to the logistics expert.

"Can't you say anything else?! Why do you always have to side with her?!" Ciel finally shouted, unable to take the humiliation any more, for it was really painful to have both males of her team tripping after the quirky leader.

"Geez! Don't be jealous! If you hate how he is pinning after Penny, why don't you ask him out in a date already?" Kage intervened, sending Ciel into a full blush and Leo into a deep frown.

"It wouldn't work." Leo deadpanned, not amused by the suggestion.

"WHAT?!" Ciel screamed now, feeling insulted by the cold remark.

"Usually I would suggest you two to try it, but I have to agree with Leo, it won't work." Penny said, making Kage raise the eyebrows, and Leo to give an uncharacteristic smile.

"Ruby, I know you said you weren't angry, but…" Kanetsugu tried to approach his girlfriend, sounding ashamed.

"Look, the only thing I want, is for you not doing that again in front of other people… other than that, please, do it any time." Ruby said the last part as a whisper; the only thing she regretted of facing a drunken Kanetsugu, is that she never noticed her sister and the other two, until Weiss and Mitsuhide entered the room, and screamed their surprise.

"Cutiepie, do you think we can push them a little further with a little bit of alcohol?" Yang discretely asked to her boyfriend, who only shrugged at the proposition.

" **Attention to all first year students, please report to the auditorium as soon as possible for your first mission."** Glynda's voice sounded through the intercom, signaling the start of the operation.

The auditorium was filled with all the first year students, both local and foreigners, assembled by their respective school and kingdom. Ozpin appeared on stage, looking calm and grandfatherly as always, then addressed the students with a small but meaningful speech, speaking of the horrible war that ended about 80 years ago, and how that aimed to destroy individualism and self expression, that had touched the four samurai warriors, for they could agree that such kind of tyranny had to be overthrown, and with haste; they still questioned the choice of defiance, for using colors as an exclusive way to name the children was something that should not have become an unavoidable tradition. The speech ended with Ozpin ordering the students to select the mission to shadow a professional hunter, all in hopes of maintaining peace while the rest of the population enjoyed the festivities; Nobunaga had to agree that it was a nice lesson on responsibility.

"Okay! Let's choose something outside the borders!" Ruby shouted like a hyperactive child, making sure to follow the plan; they had agreed that the operation was a secret, but to confuse the enemies, they would have to make things look natural and like coincidences.

"I've heard that sector 5 has some nice places to make camp, and be away from preying eyes." Nobunaga nonchalantly said, ensuring that the message was as clear as it was messed up.

"We just need to agree on the guard turns; someone needs to keep the professional away from us at night." Mitsuhide replied in his usual tone, earning a loud chuckle from the ice princess.

"Do you really have to make it sound so wrong?" Kanetsugu asked in honest confusion, earning laughs from both teams.

"Cinder, is everything all right?" Emerald asked to her leader, while watching the priest like a hawk; Cinder knew that things were not right, that sector 5 included the ruins of Mount Glenn, and that placed both teams incredibly near to Roman and the tunneling operation.

"I think I decided what area to pick; let's go to the commercial district." Cinder finally replied, knowing that should something happen at Mount Glenn… IF they even went to the ruins… would push Roman to act before time, thus, she needed to be at the strike point.

"The commercial district? But there are only thrash hunting missions there!" Mercury immediately complained, not wanting to spend a week lifting trash, just to return to a week of dish washing.

"Afraid of getting your hands dirty? Would you rather make our last teammate company back at home?" Cinder asked in a seductive tone, making Mercury go pale; as it was expected of him, he tried to score with the midget, just to find that Neo was a master at dealing with jerks, perverts and imbeciles… illusions and hidden knives are something that no male want to deal with.

"H-Hey! I'm not saying I won't do it." Mercury replied, sounding nervous, and full of dread.

"Now that's a good boy." Cinder finally said, although the smile she tried to put on was unmistakable fake.

A couple of hours later…

Teams RWBY and NKRA were leaving through the main gate, heading to the school's docks; as it was obvious, the boys had agreed to carry all the bags and other stuff, a chivalrous outdated gesture, but loved nonetheless, and seeing them all depart in such high spirits seemed perfectly fitting for the occasion; their smiles died when they reached the bullhead that would take them to their destination.

"Oh no." Ruby muttered as she saw who was waiting for them.

"Who is ready to fight for your lives?" Oobleck said in tone and pose that made him look even less serious than usual, earning face palms from both teams.

"Really?" Yang nearly screamed.

"For real?" Blake asked with dread.

"Let me guess, you pissed off the headmaster." Mitsuhide said directly to Nobunaga, who could only groan at what he could tell was Ozpin's revenge for outsmart him.

"At least is not Port-sensei." Ranmaru muttered, knowing that at least Oobleck favored boring facts, and not outlandish stories.

"Let us all remember that we are doing this for what we love, and not for fun or personal glory." Kanetsugu finally said, making everyone step forward, knowing that there was no turning back.

At the CIT…

Ciel was beyond annoyed, and long past the line of anger; she had been ordered to stand guard at the gate, she, the logistics expert and data handler, while Penny was asked to enter to the main frame room, to partake in the maintenance of one of the most important structures of the kingdom, that meant that she was being looked down, while Penny was allowed glory to which she had no right, and that made her wonder why.

"This isn't fair…" Ciel finally muttered, while reading the report on the vandalism occurred on the night of the dance.

"We are here to obey orders, not to question their origin or fairness. This is weird… I know that giving a final task to outdated models is common, but there is no new model to oversee them…" Leo said, still counting the destroyed models, to which they had access to, thanks to them being actual cadets and not hunter students.

"That is normal for you, Leo; you are a frontline grunt, not a strategist or a thinker." Ciel shot back, completely ignoring Leo's insight.

"You are sore about not being allowed to go inside the tech room with Penny, aren't you? Curious, I don't remember seeing this size of blade before." Kage added, making the girl go even madder.

"I should be the one in there, not her; besides, I think you two would be happier with her around, and not me." Ciel began to go on the offensive, not liking how the boys weren't trying to make her feel better.

"Kage, does this burn look normal to you?" Leo addressed the arsonist of the group, completely ignoring Ciel, and making her even angrier.

"It… does not. This is not fire dust burn… looks natural, but no normal flame can leave a burn like that." Kage said after inspecting the head with the burnt neck, catching the attention of their female companion.

"Wait, how do you know that?" Ciel asked, forgetting for a moment all the hatred she had gathered.

"Because I'm a pyromaniac." Kage replied while still studying the burnt metal.

"That was obvious, but how did you know what kind of fire was used?" Ciel tried again, this time gaining surprised stares from her teammates.

"Ciel, did you ever read our dossiers?" Leo asked, slowly and with nervousness.

"Yes, his said he loves fire, and yours that you are a front line soldier." Ciel replied what amounted to an extremely short summary of their dossiers; both boys shared a look of incredulity, before staring at the logistics expert… who had lost such title for them…

Inside the main frame room…

"Are you ready?" General Ironwood asked to Penny, who looked a little bit nervous.

"I'm ready to try it, but I have to remember you that I hadn't done anything like this before, nor was I created with this purpose." Penny replied with all honesty, well aware that she was not created with cyber warfare in mind.

"I know, and I understand; but your father assured me that you are impervious to data manipulation or infiltrations on your programming, which is what we need right now. Make no mistake, Penny, should you feel endangered in any way, shape or form, you are free to disconnect to save yourself." Ironwood added, knowing that she was vital to get Kanetsugu's powers for his kingdom.

"Very well, I'll try my best, General." Penny finally replied, while taking a cable with a connector from her chest.

Professor Polendina did many things when creating Penny, one of them was to provide her with a custom handmade memory unit and central processor that made the main frame of an atlesian dreadnought look like a basic calculator in comparison; what he didn't do, was to ensure it worked as intended. When the old professor checked her memory core at the end of her first week of life, he noticed two things, the first, is that her memory was an unreadable mess, incompatible with any and all scanners, and impervious to any and all algorithms, the second, is that the central processor was unable to cope with Penny's capability to assimilate data; he then found that Penny did not work like a computer, for she didn't use binary code to work, and her memory was stored in an extremely complex pattern that resembled more a genetic code than virtual data… then she explained that she was able to read binary code fluently, but found it bland and tasteless.

"I'm in." Penny stated as she connected the cable to the console, and her eyes went blank for a moment.

Inside the digital world, the virus that Cinder uploaded reigned supreme; being capable of entering anywhere, at any time without detection had granted it the chance to spread its roots on every place important to Cinder, that is to say, Beacon's main data node, and being capable of masking it's data made it near impossible to detect; but it was just a virtual AI, so it never suspected a thing when the technicians poked at it with the scans, for it would only respond to direct confrontation, first by sending an alert to Cinder, and then by deleting itself; so, imagine it's reaction when Penny appeared before it, not like a cloud of zeroes and ones, but like a multidimensional goddess that made it look like tiny and defenseless worm.

"What do we have here?" Penny asked with a rather cute and curious voice, and yet the virus acted in a way that seemed to denote fear and confusion, as her utterances were in unreadable code for the digital creature.

"Ok, let's see what are you made of, and what do you intend to do." Penny said as her hand reached for the worm-like creature, which instantly sent an alert to Cinder, getting ready to delete itself; for Penny though, the alert was like a bubble traveling at the speed of a snail, and yet, she could understand what it was, so, she simply squashed it, along with the part of the worm that held the self deleting properties.

"What a nasty little thing! Wanting to get away before allowing me to play? That's rude." Penny chastised the virus, and then started to disassemble it, read all the data, understanding its purpose and mechanisms; it was like dissecting a small animal for a school assignment, or in this case, vivisecting it, as the virus was awfully aware of what was happening to it.

"Nasty little thing indeed! What were you intending to do?" Penny asked in a displeased voice, not liking all the instructions the virus had, and the possible bad scenarios that could be brought into play.

"Well, we can't have any of that. I think I can change you into a pretty butterfly!" Penny stated in a cheerful voice, and then began to rewrite the virus, making it squirm, toss, and twirl while being forcefully morphed to Penny's liking, a program that will lie to the previous owner, while telling her EVERYTHING that said previous owner is doing, searching for, and planning; she had been moved by Nobunaga's intent on seeing her protected, and by Kanetsugu's love, so she decided to be helpful, and do everything in her power to help those who have sworn to protect her and her happiness.

"Penny, is everything alright?" Ironwood asked after almost a minute had passed, not knowing how difficult the task was going to be.

"Everything is alright. The ugly worm is a pretty butterfly now!" Penny answered; her eyes had returned to normal, and she simply disconnected herself from the main frame.

"I don't think I understand." Ironwood replied, unsure about what she was talking about.

"Oh, I mean, the bad data was reformed, it now works for us." Penny reported, just for Ironwood to receive a message on his scroll; it was from the virus itself, reporting everything it had done to date.

"That was easier than I thought it would be…" Ironwood muttered while looking at Penny's handiwork, unsure if to feel pride of having such powerful tool, or scared out of his mind at the possible implications; he was sure of something though, Ozpin was going to be very angry at the existence of such a powerful hacker.

A sudden call on Penny's scroll had her and the general go to the main gate of the CIT, for it seemed that the group of idiots had managed to discover something that the so called experts didn't…

"Report." Ironwood ordered, fully expecting to have to deal with Ciel.

"General, we discovered some minor anomalies within the destroyed bodies of the robot guards; the damage is inconsistent with normal weapons, but I'll allow Tamashii to give you the important details." Leo was the one to start the report, surprising the general, especially with the level of cooperation with the troublemaker.

"Proceed." Ironwood prompted them to continue.

"Yes sir! The burnt marks in the metal were produced by a high yield flame, akin to heavy duty explosives, but without the starting 'bang'; the molten residue indicate that the metal was cut first by the heat, and then by whatever was producing it." Kage explained while pointing to all the little parts in and out of the severed head, surprising the general.

"General, this kind of feat is not feasible by normal blades, as the metal we use melts long before achieving such feat; only a blade made of pure crystallized red dust would be able to make this happen." Leo added, while pointing to some indentations, which indicated the presence of a solid weapon during the destruction.

"Yes, but the largest dust crystal blade ever made is only half an inch long; if you take a look at the cut, you'll see it was done in a single strike, which mean it had to be at least four inches long; I'm calling semblance." Kage finished, making Ciel go eye wide, and the general raise an eyebrow.

"As expected of our pyromaniac and weapons master!" Penny praised the two boys, who couldn't help but to smile.

"The two of you can expect a medal after this mission is done, also, I want you two to bring these things up to the experts that previously looked at the evidence, if they try to downplay you, tell them I sent you as examples of what they should be doing; now carry on, I'm sure you can discover more anomalies if you look again." Ironwood praised the boys, and then left them to continue with their investigation, being even more active than before.

"I don't get it, what does it have to do with being a pyromaniac? And what is that about Leo being a weapons master?" Ciel asked to Penny, who was entertaining herself with a bag of cookies.

"Ciel didn't you read their dossiers?" Penny asked, infuriating the logistics expert.

"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?!" Ciel finally screamed, gaining the full attention of her team.

"Everything?" Kage and Leo answered at the same time, in a strange display of camaraderie that was uncharacteristic of them.

"Ciel, didn't you know that Kage's semblance is so related to fire, that he is not only immune to it, but empowered by it?" Penny asked, slowly and clearly, making Ciel go into momentary shock.

"How can someone be immune to fire?" Ciel asked, not even wanting to ask about the other part.

"I'm non-combustible, babe!" Kage replied while holding a portable blow torch, aiming it to his naked hand, and setting the fire at top heat… it did nothing to his hand… it even looked healthier; then he did the most ridiculous thing ever, he aimed for his mouth, and… began to eat the flame…

"As for Leo, well, thanks to his heritage, he spent a lot of time working at a local forge before being accepted into the army, which gave him a greater degree of expertise when dealing with weapons." Penny explained now, seemingly not worried for Kage, who kept eating the fire until the fuel was gone.

"What about Leo's heritage?" Ciel asked now, in hopes of distracting herself from the bizarre semblance of his teammate; this time however, it wasn't Penny the one to continue explained, as Leo decided to get closer, and say what he knew was an inevitable racist moment.

"I am a faunus, thus, I had to earn my place in the army with far more hard work and dedication than any other soldier." Leo replied with grim determination, ready to face the cascade of insults that were fitting for him and the soldiers… Ciel didn't disappoint him, as she quickly began to scream.

On a bullhead in its way to Mountain Glenn…

Oobleck the two teams assigned to him for this mission, and he was more than annoyed; first for the knowledge that he won't be able to push the youngsters into calling him doctor, and second…

"Couldn't you wait until I was not watching you?" Oobleck said while looking at the couples, who had opted to sit together… as in one girl on the lap of one boy; except for Yang and Ranmaru, who had the role reversed.

"I'm pretty certain that Vale, and by extension Beacon, do not forbid this level of interaction." Weiss replied for the entire group, making the doctor shook his head in annoyance.

"Sensei, may I ask why were you assigned to this mission? I mean no offense, but you don't look like the kind of person to lead a 'search and destroy' mission." Nobunaga finally asked, wanting to make sure that Ozpin had selected this particular hunter for a different reason than to annoy him.

"While I'm more an intellectual type of person, I assure you that I have had my fair share of bruises with combat, so yes, I'm a professional hunter; as for this mission, the headmaster believed that my ample knowledge in history, archeology and anthropology would be a most favorable asset for this particular mission." Oobleck answered, fast and proud; yet it was not fully reassuring to the teams.

"Were you made aware of the mission itself?" Nobunaga asked now, with a frown that spoke of worry, thing that made the doctor sober up immediately.

"Of course I was made aware! I don't know why YOU were selected, or how YOU got the required information, but I will ensure that the mission is complete. The White Fang may have my sympathy due to the racism they have gone through, but attempting such a brutal attack is beyond forgivable!" Oobleck replied, making obvious that he was aware of a special mission being carried on, but not aware of all the details.

"Oh, heavens… that is…" Kanetsugu muttered as the large, abandoned city became visible.

"Mountain Glenn." Ruby called out the name of the city, noticing how her boyfriend tightened the grip on her.

"Yes, an early attempt to expand the kingdom, and its greatest failure up to this day." Oobleck added, making use of his knowledge, and yet waiting for a proper opening to go into the full history of the city.

"I remember that, it was supposed to be an expansion of the city, but ended up overrun by grimm, and cut off from the kingdom to fence for themselves." Yang partially explained, remembering just bits of the story.

"My lord, those walls… they don't look as if taken down on a siege." Ranmaru pointed out, and this prompted the visionary to take a closer look.

"No. They don't. The walls look like they were destroyed from the inside." Nobunaga explained as he suveiled the scene, sporting a frown that spoke of outrage.

"What are you talking about?" Oobleck was the one to ask, taking a closer look himself.

"So, is that why Kanetsugu called it, the city of the betrayed?" Blake asked, knowing that if that was true, then they were told a really big lie about the place.

"Mountain Glenn was overrun by the grimm due to careless watchmen and the lack of proper weaponry at the time; the walls were smashed by a charging horde of goliaths, and the city streets flooded by crawlers, bewolves and ursai. The council ordered the collapse of the tunnels linking it with the kingdom in order to prevent a wide spread outbreak inside the kingdom, and then the atleasian army came in to try to rescue the survivors, only to shell the entire city due to the large amount of hostiles." Oobleck recited, although his tone of voice was changing quickly into one of anger, especially when he took notice of Nobunaga's accurate assessment.

"The betrayed… all those poor souls! They are still suffering, they need help!" Kanetsugu said with a trembling voice, looking at the city with teary eyes.

"What is he talking about?" Oobleck finally asked, gaining the combined stares of the rest of both teams; it was a mixture of anger and incredulity, for they took as an insult any kind of doubt directed at the battle monk.

Meanhwile, Kanetsugu couldn't take his eyes from what he was seeing, the large mass of ghosts wanting to pass to the afterlife, all of them looking intently at him, drawn to his light, as if they knew he had the power to offer them the rest they so much longed for.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Well, that was all for this year, so, Merry Christmas! And happy New Year!


	28. Mountain Glenn

**Magnus:** I hope you all had a nice start of a year, now is time for an update, setting things up for an action packed chapter, enjoy! And remember: Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** The religious touches I'm giving to this story are part of my beliefs, and not a text-book portry of any real world religion, so please, don't be offended.

* * *

 **Chapter 28**

 **Mountain Glenn**

Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck is a man who believed first in intellect, and not brute force, tactics and not sheer momentum, and of course, careful planning and not reckless abandon; as such, he is a man who thoroughly believed himself to be a natural leader, the obvious choice to put in charge of a delicate and secret mission, the one who would be calling the shots, and the first to take command… apparently Ozpin has chosen him with the sole purpose of taking him down a notch…

"Yang, Ranmaru; scout the area around us, search for nests and possible hideouts of the White Fang, but keep a low profile. Ruby, Kanetsugu; choose a place to make camp and make a fast divination session if the situation call for it; a fortified base would be ideal, but being able to move at a moment notice is required. Weiss and Mitsuhide, keep guard over Ruby and Kanetsugu." Nobunaga took command as soon as he began to leave the bullhead, not even waiting for his feet to touch ground; leaving the Doctor with a sour taste on his mouth.

"At once!" Ranmaru answered with a firm, if feminine, voice; Yang limited herself to nod with previously unseen determination on her eyes.

"Ok, let's go!" Ruby said with astounding seriousness, albeit that may have been due to Kanetsugu's condition, which was a mixture of nausea and dread due to his visions of lost souls.

"What is going on? I'm supposed to be in command!" Oobleck finally shouted, shaking himself out of his awed state; at first it had been an amazing sight, to see such display of coordination, but then his pride kicked in, remembering that he was the professional, and thus the one to give orders.

"Sensei; you will now share with us everything you know about this city. We need to know why was it founded in the first place, and what led to its downfall." Nobunaga called the doctor, showing now the hardened face of a seasoned warlord, thing that left the doctor scared, for he finally saw what Ozpin feared, a visionary capable to tackle any issue with celerity and determination.

Underground…

Neo gritted her teeth, one step shy of killing someone, all because she was in the worse situation possible…

"Hey, midget! Stop stalling, and get back to move those crates!" Foxy, her current antagonist, kept barking orders to her; Neo was no stranger to do menial work when it was required, or when the situation called for it, but she was no worker, and in no shape to perform heavy lifting for extended periods of time.

"Watch where you step, stupid human!" Another faunus, a bearly bear, shouted to her as she tried to keep the peace, infuriating her even more; she had nothing about faunus, she never thought of them as lesser beings, heck, she even hugged, kissed and even bed one of them at some point of her life, which made this kind of racists comments all the bitter for her.

"Hey, if you are done with that, help me with a quick look at the surface." Another faunus said to her, yet this one spoke in a more amicable way; this, coupled with a chance to drop the heavy lifting helped her greatly to follow him without hesitation, for at least outside she would only have to deal with the grimm, and not that bitch.

"So… what did you do to piss her off?" The faunus guy asked as they began to climb the absurdly long stairs.

 **The fuck I know.** Neo replied with her small sign post, making a comical shrug to add more emphasis.

"Huh? I thought you had said something racists against her, or comment on how sick is for her to be so close to that deranged man." The guy continued, trying to sound casual, and yet she could tell that he was not at ease with the current situation.

 **I'm not racist; I even find animal ears cute.** Neo showed her sign now, making the guy make a double take at her writing.

"Are you serious? Is that why you are here?" The guy asked now, seemingly not believing the cat burglar.

 **I don't approve of your destructive tendencies.** Neo's words seemed to surprise the faunus, but not overly so.

"Yeah, me neither… I wish I had known about that Oda guy earlier; my cousin is actually making more money than me." The guy said with some regret on his voice, and yet his words struck the short girl strongly; she would have screamed if she had the capability of doing so.

 **Would you like to meet him?** Neo's question brought a chuckle from the faunus guy, then he shook his head and offered a cigarette to the girl.

"It wouldn't work; my cousin told me that he doesn't like the White Fang, and to be honest, I no longer like it either… I doubt he would speak for me, or any other White Fang member, at any factory or business." The guy replied, showing how he believed he made a poor choice, one that would follow him to the end of his life; then he noticed Neo patting his shoulder, while still holding the same sign post, he suddenly got what she was saying.

"Are you… serious?" The guy asked, slowly and with hesitation. Neo gave a firm nod, knowing that this could net her not only another coin, but perhaps bonus points akin to one of the art pieces the mint haired brat kept talking about.

At the surface…

It didn't add up, Oobleck explanation, and his own theories were unsuited for the evidence before them; Blake seemed to begin to understand, but the professor was too engrossed with his own pride and knowledge to even care.

"And thus, by the time the atlesian army arrived, there was no other choice but to bomb the entire city in hopes of decimating the grimm, and then try to search for survivors; this of course was counterproductive, as what few survivors were standing by them, were caught in the crossfire." Oobleck finished his long explanation of the tragedy of Mountain Glenn, almost happy to have such a rapt audience… almost.

"I understand that that is the official tale, but I asked for the truth." Nobunaga said as he continued to look at his surroundings.

"This is weird, we have been fighting small packs of grimm for hours, and yet here there are almost no one." Blake commented as they kept walking on the small plaza.

Their trek had been as expected of the abandoned city, fighting lesser grimm, and seeing destruction everywhere; they had taken this route as a random choice, waiting for the others to report, and hoping to find anything useful, then they began to notice that as they neared this particular plaza, the destruction caused by the grimm was almost nonexistent, leaving only the destruction caused by the hands of men.

"I… was not here at the moment of the tragedy; I can only assume that the official report is at least half accurate. It is obvious that the actions of the atlesian army were too extreme, and the cause of the invasion is unclear; but we can't assume the worse from our own kingdom." Oobleck explained in startling seriousness; then something caught the attention of the visionary.

"Is that… a church?" Nobunaga asked as he was drawn to the ornate building, one that he recognized, despite the bullet holes, and the glaring missing roof.

"Oh! It is a chapel of one of the old faiths. I had no idea one was here." Oobleck replied, surprised enough to begin to take pictures with his scroll.

"Old faiths?" Blake asked now, noticing the main symbol of the chapel, the cross commonly found on graveyards and lucky charms of the caravans.

"Yes, some kind of highly contradictory set of beliefs; this particular faith believed in both human supremacy, and in treating the faunus as equals, just like they believed in unchecked expansionism while being respectful to nature, and not recognizing kingdoms while never breaking any law; according to my father, they were a bunch of harmless weirdoes. Nowadays though, only their symbol remains as a lucky charm and their teachings an echo in the caravans." Oobleck explained as they reached the gate of the chapel, where Nobunaga was standing, seemingly in shock.

"Now I know why this city was attacked…" Nobunaga said as the other two reached him.

"Nobu?" Blake shyly asked as she took a look inside…

"Oh, Oum…" Oobleck muttered too.

Inside the chapel, all benches were filled with amazingly well preserved skeletons; people of all ages were lined up, looking forward, and at the altar, two more skeletons were hugging each other, one had a tail, marking it as a faunus, and the other was most likely human. It was a wedding, if the almost gone formal clothes were any indication, between a faunus and a human; obviously interrupted at the sweetest moment.

"This city was taking the first steps toward a new way of thinking, separate from the core views of the kingdoms, probably aiming for independency; they had welcomed a faith that allowed both races to mix and form a new one, making the decision of working together as a single people. And then someone feared that the rest of the world will follow on their steps, and decided that a full blown repression was in order. That leaves the question open: Was it Vale, or Atlas?" Nobunaga said, sounding extremely upset, and yet maintaining a low voice, as if trying to pay respect either to the dead, or the chapel.

"Young man, I hope you are not trying to accuse the crown of this tragedy." Oobleck replied with a warning tone, for he knew very well what could come out of that.

"It wouldn't be that shocking; almost anywhere that humans welcome faunus, there is a terrorist attack, or a grimm outbreak; Vacuo being an exception due to the lack of strategic places." Blake suddenly added, seemingly as upset as her boyfriend.

"Miss Belladonna, I'm well aware of your faunus heritage, so don't think I'm being racist; you should be well aware of my standing in this situation." Oobleck warned Blake now, for he took offence on being counted among those who didn't want to see humans and faunus living happily together.

"It was the Abyss." Nobunaga suddenly said, stopping any argument from starting.

In his mind, the picture was quite clear; someone didn't want this peace to be successful, to continue in this path to glory. The walls had to have been sabotaged from inside the city, detonated shortly after the massacre in the chapel, as the bullet holes proved; simple screams in the main streets about the outbreak would have been enough to spread panic, while the priests of the religious orders were assassinated in the dark. There were more questions though, like how the grimm were attracted in such large numbers, for the population had to have been large producers of positive energy, and who made the call of the points to drop the bombs, for the lack of ceiling proved this chapel as a strike point, even when there was no evidence of grimm presence… these questions would have to wait though, as there were more pressing issues.

"The Abyss?" Oobleck asked at the same time that Blake frowned.

"Ruby; I found a place to make camp, so bring everyone at the location that my scroll is broadcasting; also, be warned, here are some bodies that need burial." Nobunaga said to the scroll, ending one of the tasks that the other team had to complete.

" _ **Understood; we'll be there in a minute."**_ Ruby answered back, obviously wary of what awaited her.

Meanwhile…

Yang and Ranmaru had been taking their mission with incredible seriousness, checking grimm nests, places with the highest concentrations, and of course, marking any possible entrance to the underground tunnels; they had been doing this without getting distracted even once, but that changed when they spotted a certain midget smoking alongside a White Fang member, which prompted them to have a little bit of fun.

"Stay where you are, or lose your head." Ranmaru calmly said while holding his nodachi to the neck of the guy.

"Make a single sound, and I'll snap you neck, short stuff." Yang sweetly said to the midget, while holding her in a sleeper hold, but with no pressure; she was surprised when the midget actually palmed her arm a couple of times while showing a small sign.

 **He is with us.** Neo's sign was as confusing as it was helpful, and it was showing.

"Is that true?" Ranmaru asked with understandable caution, this made the guy remove the mask a sign of cooperation.

"I'm as confused as you are… am I to assume you know this Oda guy?" The now revealed mouse faunus asked, with no little hope in his voice.

"You know my lord?" Ranmaru asked, obviously baffled, yet at the ready to cut his head; then the scroll of the guy sounded, and he slowly brought it up to answer the call.

" _ **Hey! Jerry, are you still there?"**_ The voice asked, but it lacked true concern.

"Keep it low, I'm between several packs of bewolves; I'll call you later." Jerry replied in hushed, yet audible voice.

" _ **Fine, just remember to call more often, or send a text."**_ The voice replied, lower this time, and the communication was cut.

 **His cousin knows your lord.** Neo posted while the guy stored the scroll, making the girly pair grimace, for that meant that the little mouse may have involved himself more than intended.

"My lord, we found our informant and a possible ally." Ranmaru said through his scroll, not taking his eyes from the mouse faunus.

"Informant?" Jerry asked, concerned about the loyalty of the mute.

"It's a long story." Yang limited herself to reply cryptically.

"I see; bring them to my location, and hurry, for we don't want them missing for too long." Nobunaga answered, much to the surprise of the faunus guy.

A little later, at the chapel…

When Ruby, Weiss, Kanetsugu and Mitsuhide arrived at the chapel, they expected many things, but clearly not seeing the visionary digging holes in the backyard of the building, or Blake assembling wooden crosses.

"What is going on here?" Weiss asked, afraid of hearing the answer.

"Mister Oda seems to believe that this location have some anti-grimm properties, and burying the dead inside seems like a fitting payment for such place." Oobleck replied with certain disdain, for he believed this to be a waste of time.

"Burying the… dead?" Weiss asked now, seemingly wanting to have heard wrong.

"Are you ok?" Ruby asked to Kanetsugu, knowing very well that his apparent sickness was caused by the presence of countless souls of those murdered during the fall of the city.

"How can this be possible? How can there be unburied people here, and no wandering souls?" Kanetsugu asked to no one in particular as he entered the chapel.

"Wait, there are no ghosts here?" Ruby asked as she followed him; she noticed the bones of those long dead, and was thankful of not noticing any smell related to the death of people, but noticing the image of a wedding was saddening to her.

"Nobunaga wasn't kidding when he said these people could build a chapel anywhere; they did it even here, so far away from home." Mitsuhide suddenly said as he entered, walking toward the altar in the front.

"You know this religion?" Oobleck and Weiss asked at the same time.

"Not enough to explain it, but enough to answer Kanetsugu's question. This God is very different, and embraces the souls of his followers so strongly that they never remain in the world of the living after their deaths; well, if they are faithful that is." Mitsuhide explained as he reached the altar, and then he bowed in respect, as if not wanting to upset the god of this chapel.

"That is a very dedicated god." Kanetsugu said, now interested in hearing about this religion.

"And it is a very dedicated religion, for this God will embrace you if you accept him, but won't allow you to worship anyone or anything else. And before anybody ask; no, this is not a religion from Edo." Nobunaga said as he entered, gaining everyone's attention.

"If it isn't from Edo, how do you know about it?" Oobleck asked now, eager and greedy to get new information.

"If you really want to know, then help me to give these people proper burial, as that is the least they deserve." Nobunaga replied, successfully coaxing the teacher to help in the burial of the bones.

A couple of minutes later, the scouting party arrived to the chapel, and they were no less surprised at the sight…

"That is a respectful leader." Jerry commented as he saw the guy with the tall ponytail, a trait that his cousin had mentioned more than once; seeing such an important figure burying the dead made him look like a better character than Adam and his extremist view.

"My lord?" Ranmaru shyly asked, seemingly wary of entering the grounds belonging to the building.

"Ah! Ranmaru, Yang; I'm glad to see you are fine… I also see you brought our informant and a new ally." Nobunaga greeted them, still carrying the bones of the people, and burying them with respect.

"Can I help?" Jerry asked all of the sudden, showing that he was not to be accounted among the bad guys.

Oobleck watched, unable to choose between being awed or feeling dread; he had made a call to Ozpin, who had kindly remind him that he should let the visionary act freely unless he acted against Vale, thus was unable to attempt an arrest on the White Fang member. When the faunus guy began to speak with the visionary, though, his opinion of the visionary changed a little bit, as it became obvious that he was helping faunus to find jobs and be of good to the kingdom, then he got the faunus to give frightening details about what was happening underground.

"I'm not sure if I can help you sabotage the operation; the White Fang is not kind to defectors." Jerry said with understandable apprehension.

"Nor they are kind to those who don't follow orders without question." Blake was the one to speak now, gaining the attention of the mouse faunus.

"What do you mean?" Jerry asked, startled by her words.

"Think carefully about it. You were tasked to patrol the surface, in a place full of grimm, and with almost no chance to be visited; should it be visited, only the presence of the patrol would alert the visitors of White Fang presence; to make things worse, you, and those who had questioned the orders, have been ordered to stay behind during the operation to safe guard the base during the raid, a raid that will need to use the entirety of the hardware and the bombs, a raid that most likely will not return to the original point of departure." Nobunaga elaborated, in morbid detail; the faunus suddenly gasped in realization.

"We… are being culled down…" Jerry said, with horror filling his features.

"We don't want you to start a confrontation; we want you to gather those who want out of the White Fang; so we can help you." Nobunaga stated in an amicable voice, one of his weapons to turn the hearts of the people.

 **I'll sabotage the bombs, you gather your friends.** Neo showed her post, showing that she was against Roman; she had her motives though, as the point of entry to the city was filled with her favorite stores, meaning that they would be demolished, and she would no loger have a place to spend her hard earned money.

"That… sounds like something I could do." Jerry finally said, thinking on saving the lives of his friends.

"Good, now go back; we need to maintain appearances, make sure no one suspects, and report that we are simply hunting down grimm. We will strike in three days, that should give you enough time to inform those who wants out, and to disarm the bombs." Nobunaga finally gave his orders, and then ensured that his two agents left in good spirits, giving a coin and a promise of one of Kanetsugu's canvas to the midget, and the promise of a new life to the faunus guy.

"Did that just really happen? Did he just turned a White Fang terrorist into an inside agent?" Oobleck suddenly asked, after making sure the two agents were out of range.

"Yes, as outrageous as it seems." Weiss answered, making the doctor frown.

"Seems like a pacifist leader." Oobleck muttered, still feeling weird after witnessing the recruitment.

"You won't think like that after three days." Mitsuhide said cryptically, earning a chuckle from Ranmaru and Yang.

"Very well, for the next days we have to act normally, and give the impression of not knowing about the White Fang operation; sensei, you are in command for that time, just remember that we'll need to have energy to perform a full assault at a moment notice. Kanetsugu… whatever you want to do about the souls you've seen, just remember to keep the most energy possible, as we may have to rely on you if something goes wrong." Nobunaga ordered, knowing that he had done what he could, and only had to wait for the plan to be successful.

"I know, I know; I'll try to perform as many rituals today as possible, and refrain myself for the rest of the time… but I demand to be allowed to return to this city, so I can clean it from the remaining spirits." Kanetsugu said with sadness, knowing that he had to hold the reins of his heart yet again.

"Don't worry, Tsugu-tsugu; I'll be with you the whole time." Ruby said while tenderly hugging her boyfriend.

"Tsugu-tsugu?" Mitsuhide, Weiss and Yang asked at the same time, obviously surprised after hearing such a pet name.

"EEPPP!" Ruby nearly shouted after noticing her slip, leading to a blushing battle monk.

"Well, let's have a quick meal; then we can go on our way to clean this city of grimm activity." Oobleck suddenly said, returning to his fast speech, obviously pleased at being in command.

Back at the White Fang base, an hour later…

Jerry was understandably nervous, he had to report back, and explain the long time it took for him to return, lie about the situation above ground, and survive…

"So, we have a professional hunter and a team of rookies culling the grimm outside?" Roman asked in an annoyed voice; the twitch of his mechanic arm was glaringly obvious, just as the discomfort on his face as he shifted his stance, still not used to his new legs.

"Why didn't you dispatch them?" The lieutenant asked with no little anger on his voice, thing that helped to explain the nervous attitude of the mouse faunus.

 **He was alone and armed with a civilian rifle. Want the hunters to wonder if he was alone?** Neo's post had a perfect reasoning, for the last thing they wanted was to have the operation discovered, and having to deal with Cinder.

"And why didn't you help him?" Foxy asked to the illusionist, who simply turned around the post, apparently aware that she was going to be questioned about that.

 **You don't pay me enough for combat.** Neo's answer, coupled with her angry stare made for a very convincing argument, forcing the three terrorists to face palm.

"Lieutenant, this is more your thing; can you send a unit to watch the hunters and keep them occupied if needed?" Roman asked to the burly faunus, itching to accelerate the plan, but well aware of the possible consequences.

"Can do; it will serve as a fine test to see if some of the new recruits have what it takes to serve the White Fang." The lieutenant replied, eyeing the mouse faunus like a cat about to eat its prey.

"Can we send the midget with them? She has more combat experience." Foxy added, wanting to get rid of the midget and her cheeky attitude.

"No, she is the one with the most experience with explosives and electronics; we need her to oversee our hot potatoes." Roman said in what sounded like a disappointed voice; apparently she was being kept alive for her amazing set of skills… she would have loved to be more admired for her beauty though.

If Jerry had any doubts about what path to take, they had just disappeared; he didn't need anyone to tell him what was going to happen, for the visionary had been extremely accurate. He and those who had expressed doubt, or the idea of leaving the White Fang, will be tasked to go outside, and pretend to be the full force in the area, so they can die for the White Fang, and help to spread mayhem; he didn't know what would happen in three days, but he certainly hoped that he and his friends would be allowed to escape this madness, and return to their families.

Meanwhile, back at Beacon…

Professor Polendina and General Ironwood were watching the assembled team PSTL, looking at them with a mixture of anger and worry, and perhaps a little bit of annoyance; Ciel was sporting a bright red mark of a hand on her cheek, and a cast down face that expressed both anger and regret; Leo was shifting on his feet ever so slightly, while sweating, and Kage had his hands behind his head, although looking away from the adults; Penny was just smiling as usual, although the professor could tell she was slightly nervous.

"What happened?" Ironwood asked after he was done with the glaring; he managed to not shout, but his anger was quite evident.

"It was my fault!" Kage instantly shouted, going out of his way to protect what he believed was worth protecting.

"But it was due to my actions! So no full blame should fall upon any one other." Leo added, sounding afraid.

"Penny, what happened?" The professor asked, knowing that Penny will always answer to him; Kage and Leo looked intently at her, as if begging her to not incriminate herself.

"Well… cadet Soleil was going through a racist crisis, and then she stumbled, hic! And fell on my hand by accident, hic!" Penny answered, being stupidly obvious about what happened; the professor simply rubbed the bridge of his nose, while the general raised an eyebrow at the strange situation.

"Cadet Soleil, something to add?" Ironwood asked to the self proclaimed logistics expert, who was eerily silent.

"No, sir." Ciel's response was not reassuring.

"Then explain what had going through this crisis." Ironwood demanded now, knowing that he had to keep the integrity of the team if he wanted his plans to come to fruition.

"I was unaware of my companion being a faunus… his revelation took me by surprise." Ciel explained in painfully little detail, trying to hide as much as possible.

"Unaware?" The professor asked now, not truly expecting to be answered.

"I must admit I never brought up my heritage, thus I'm partially to blame for the misunderstanding." Leo suddenly replied, trying to mitigate the upcoming scolding; he was not fond of his teammate, but he still considered her a sister in arms.

"But it was clearly stated in your dossier, and. UGH!" Kage tried to bring up the obvious, although he was quickly elbowed by the large blond.

"So, what you are telling me is that cadet Soleil went out of her way to insult and denigrate cadet Aurus when she found out that he is a faunus, believing that he was hiding his heritage; then miss Polendina decided to intervene by applying a text-book slap to have her see reason, while neither Tamashii or Aurus intervened… am I missing something?" Ironwood asked after giving a scarily accurate interpretation of the events, missing only the fact that Kage cheered during the slap.

"That's… incredible accurate." Kage said with wide eyes, seeing the general as a wise man; not even thinking that the whole event was actually caught on camera.

"Penny, I told you that violence against people is never a good thing." The old professor said with what appeared to be a disappointed voice.

"I'm sorry, Papa." Penny replied, full of regret.

"Professor Polendina, I believe that the actions of your daughter were not uncalled for; the cadets must learn to work together for the mission, regardless of personal issues." Ironwood suddenly cut in, not taking away Penny's sadness.

"I see no problem with that way of thinking, I mean; Leo and I can work together from time to time." Kage suddenly said, earning Ciel's glare.

"That gave me good idea; cadet Soleil, you and cadet Aurus are going to fake a romantic relationship for the rest of the mission." Ironwood begin to explain, sounding almost evil, and as if enjoying it.

"WHAT?!" Ciel was quick to freak out; it was already hard for her to know she was going to share a room with what she considered a filthy animal, holding hands with him was far too much.

"Learning to put away your personal preference is vital to the black ops operations; I have operatives in a permanent post in Vacuo's borders, where they have formed families with the locals despite their hatred toward them. If you can't learn something so simple, or are unable to follow orders, then you are unsuited for our glorious army." Ironwood further explained, surprising the professor, and making Leo grimace.

"I… I understand…" Ciel replied with a weak voice, unsure sure if she should keep pursuing her dream, and yet fearing the consequences of disobeying.

"Good; cadet Aurus, any doubts?" Ironwood asked now to the leonine faunus, who had yet to stop frowning.

"No sir; but I have to voice my concern. I don't think cadet Soleil is ready for such a drastic change in behavior." Leo said, earning a small sigh from his female companion.

"Then you better make a good impression on the courtship." Ironwood's final words were as cold as the grave, leaving them with no doubt about the hard mission ahead.

"Does that mean I can ask Penny out?" Kage asked out of the blue, making Leo give his now characteristic growl.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Next chapter will be the end of season 2, after that, two or three chapters will be added before starting season 3; that means I'll start watching season 4 soon.


	29. A Change of Fate

**Magnus:** With this chapter, I come to the end of season 2; of course I'll add two or three more chapters before tackling season 3, so, this is far from over; for noe enjoy! And remember: Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** I think I own enough willpower to watch the new season of RWBY now, I may give it a try in the next days.

* * *

 **Chapter 29**

 **A Change of Fate**

It has been two days since the assignments began, so it has been two days since Cinder began with what many believed to be a romantic crisis; spending day and night glued to her scroll, making calls and receiving texts every hour or even more often, and yelling whenever she got a call or a text from someone else than the number she wanted. It was a hilarious situation, but to her lackeys, it was scary, and very dangerous.

"You are going to end up triggering your boyfriend." Mercury tried to sound funny, if only to lighten the mood, but it backfired; Cinder just glared in his direction, with a very murderous glint in her eyes.

"Mercury is not wrong; if you keep harassing him, he will jump the gun." Emerald followed, sounding serious and caring, for she knew that Cinder needed to relax, least she is the one to screw up the plan.

"I… you know that his friends are such a bad influence…" Cinder finally replied, trying to play along with the wording, for their assigned teacher had quite the amazing hearing.

"Break time is over; we need to keep cleaning, so your Mistral buddies can find a pleasant sight!" Professor Peach said as she approached them, apparently taking delight in having them work extra hard by picking every scrap of thrash in the city.

For Roman Torchwick, the last two days had been exceedingly stressful, itching to accelerate the plans, and to get away from the mess he was currently in; it was not Cinder's harassment that had him not act though, but a rather shocking surprise he was given by a certain faunus.

"I don't like this…" Roman muttered aloud, still reading the reports of the patrol in the outside; by some miracle the softies had managed to avoid detection, while giving extended reports of the activity of the hunters, which were very promising, as they seemed to be focused in areas away from the main entrances to the underground.

"You mean the situation, or our situation?" Foxy suddenly asked, sounding slightly worried; she had surprised him with a positive pregnancy test, and she had asked his input, as she was at a loss at what to do about it, his answer was that they needed to do some serious thinking about it, and then returned to normal activities…

"What? No! I mean… all of this. We have hunters over our heads, and Cinder poking at our feet; and we have to sit tight on our asses until the right time, which means weeks of waiting with ticking bombs in our hands… I don't like it." Roman explained, not knowing if feeling safe by the patrol not checking where the camp of the hunters was, or not.

"Well, if you need a small break, we can relax together for a couple of minutes." Foxy offered, not liking the situation as it was; she hated this Cinder woman, her plans, and how she threw her and Roman's life into danger for some nebulous scheme.

"Are you sure it won't affect… your health?" Roman suddenly asked, making the faunus woman to look at her own belly in shock, before looking intently at the sociopath.

"Wait! Do you really want to have it?" Foxy asked in shock, she had been ready to hear him say that such condition needed to be terminated, with her agreeing completely, and yet, hearing the suggestion made something stir inside.

"You don't?" Roman asked with absolute neutrality, he didn't know if to leave that condition develop or not, but he felt that either way would not endanger his relationship with the faunus.

"I… don't know… I was waiting for you to make the call." Foxy replied honestly, making sure to sound as if she would agree to his choice.

"But… it's your body." Roman shot back, in what began to sound as a poorly made soap opera.

"Roman, we can't reach Adam down here, we need to send someone back to him and deliver the report." The lieutenant said as he entered, making the lovers go stiff, as if being caught red handed; they recovered quickly though.

"Then send one of the grunts that are already outside. No! Wait! They could betray us." Foxy replied, first with annoyance, and then with alarm when she noticed why this had to be brought up, as they wanted to eliminate the weak links.

"Foxy, why don't you take Deery and a couple of her friends and go yourself; sensitive information cannot be handled by lesser grunts after all." Roman suddenly said in a moment of brilliance; wanting to have her out of any possible situation; the trek would take almost a week, which would meant that the hunters would be gone by then… or have acted by then.

On the surface…

Oobleck was having conflicted feelings, for while he was put in charge, he was not the one with the most authority in the group; he had tried to corner the students to get to know them better, making sensitive questions about why did they choose this career, and while the girls had shown responses that denoted either confusion or simplicity, the guys had been a massive backfire.

" _I joined your academy to find Ruby and her team, to protect them from the Abyss, and to see her happy; vanquishing the darkness and protecting peace is something I've always have done, so it's nothing new, and nothing less than what I'll do."_ Kanetsugu's answer was awfully humbling, leaving the doctor with the need to find a more deep reason to keep his career in a cherished stand.

" _Isn't it obvious? To do what is right, bring freedom to the enslaved, and a smile to the saddened."_ Mitsuhide's answer seemed heroic at first, until the doctor reasoned that he meant Weiss and her family problems; his skill being put to use to decimate hordes of grimm had him untouchable though, as it was obvious that he will fight to the death for what he believed.

" _I'm here in obedience to my lord; since I'm being blessed with the promise of marriage from my beautiful maiden, and the expectation of using my blade against all the enemies of my lord, I see no reason to change my path, or to feel unhappy."_ Ranmaru's answer was what the doctor classified as the words of a deranged sociopath; seeing the feminine guy slaying everything with such a happy smile was incentive enough to not press for a more complete answer.

" _If you have the time and strength to be nosing about such things; then do your kingdom a favor, and grab a weapon to murder things that endanger the innocent and the powerless, only then I'll take your questions with any semblance of seriousness."_ Nobunaga had been… not wrong on his wording, as such harsh words had been given to the doctor in more than one occasion, however, being talked down by a student had been quite humiliating.

The first night had been also an eye opener for the doctor, as he was shown that this particular group had reasons to be religious in their doings; he tried to lecture the youngsters on their lack of foresight by not setting guards during the night, but they had replied that the ground was hallowed, and thus anathema for the grimm, which was proven true when not a single grimm was sighted during the day prior, the night, or even the morning; then he tried to start a lecture on how to properly divide the rations, but Ranmaru appearing with a few snakes ready for cooking had him with no momentum to use; finally he decided to point out the obvious weaknesses on Nobunaga's plan, when Jerry arrived…

"Mister Oda! I bring you news; we are 26, myself included, faunus ready to leave the White Fang, and aid you in your cause." Jerry said as he approached with a couple of understandably nervous faunus.

"And I welcome each one of you with open arms; now tell me, is everyone outside?" Nobunaga addressed the newcomers with a friendly voice, and a sincere smile; Mitsuhide grimaced, knowing very well where this could lead in the future.

"Not everyone, but most of us are. I'm sorry, but we are so few, and down there are just so many…" One of the other faunus replied, sounding as if in doubt of success, but not on the path they took.

"Really now? Do you think that their numbers will give them the strength to oppose us?" Nobunaga asked with a small, and yet dark, chuckle.

"But… you'll be faced with odds of a hundred to one down there!" The other faunus said in distress, wanting to save the one guy who wanted to help them out of such a dangerous group.

"Oh, don't you worry. My lord has faced even more daring odds in the past, and won with a large margin of resources, and minimal loses." Ranmaru said with such a happy smile, that no one had trouble imagining him remembering such brutal battles.

"Really? Worse odds than a houndred to one?" Weiss asked in disbelief, knowing that such kind of victories were the stuff of legends, and not history.

"Ah, yes. Yoshimoto fought against him with an advantage of a thousand to one… he never stood a chance." Mitsuhide said with closed eyes and pity on his voice, as if remembering that particular battle.

"WHAT?!" Many shouted in shock, not wanting to believe such an outrageous declaration, and yet, something at the back of their minds told them that speaking of this guy, that could be very possible.

"Don't you worry about that; but, if you want to ensure that all of you can return safely to your families, then you can help to stage our entrance." Nobunaga finally spoke, starting with the downfall of the White Fang as a group.

Meanwhile…

Neo had been working diligently on her task, doing her best to avoid detection, while moving as fast as possible; it irked her though, there were too many high yield bombs, and all of them directed to a single place. Neo tried to reason which points would be hit, but she couldn't, for there were enough bombs to even target non-priority buildings; she didn't care about the hospital or the orphanage in the strike point, but imagining EVERY high class shop being reduced to ashes was too much to take in. Being too many bombs, she decided to start from the most likely to be used first, the closests to the engine car, leaving the last wagon as the last to disarm; her plan was simple and brilliant, unfortunately, no one shared with her what was supposed to happen to the bombs…

Dawn of the next morning…

Oobleck grimaced when the hour to act finally came; he had been expecting the atlesian army to sweep in like they always say they do, but no, the job was truly passed to him and the two teams under his care; said teams were way too focused for his liking though, as if they had been ready for this the whole time.

"Team one, report." Nobunaga quietly asked through his scroll, while looking at everyone, all hurled near the closest entrance to the underground area of the operation.

" _ **Team one here, all six ready to open the door for you."**_ The first team of faunus infiltrators replied, for they were the ones at the entrance of their camp; their job was simple, to be there, open the door, and then make scandal about the break in… very loud scandal, as if an entire army had arrived, and were murdering them, ensuring that a large number of the White Fang members rushed to their point.

"Team two, report." Nobunaga asked now, while the others were making last second checks on their gear.

" _ **Team two here, all twenty ready for the pincer."**_ The second team replied, ready to cut down the numbers of the opposing forces; their job was gruesome, but they knew it was necessary, for shooting at the backs of their former allies was certainly a horrible thing to do, but it was the only way to escape, to cut down the numbers, and feign their deaths in the confusion, all while leaving the path open for the hunters, so they can stop the madman and his evil plans.

"This is it; remember, we are not taking prisoners, and everyone who attacks us is not going to survive, understood?" Nobunaga said to everyone, earning nods in return; Ruby had prepared herself for this, knowing that today she will take her first life, knowing that there was no way around it, knowing that failure would endanger her sister, her father, her friends, and even her beloved boyfriend.

"Ok everyone, we are starting the operation at the count of three…" Thus Nobunaga began the countdown to the bloodshed…

Roman was in the middle of a pleasant dream, one that he thought would never be on his list of sweet dreams; he was finally able to hold a nice upper class apartment, owning a small casino of his own, with its own smuggling ring, of course, and to top it all, sharing it all with his not-wife and illegitimate child, a pretty looking fox faunus that no doubt would spend lots of his money when she grows up. It was so warm and cozy to dream about it, and then we was returned to the cold reality with the worst possible scenario…

"INTRUDER!" The scream was followed by heavy gun fire, throwing Roman out of the bed, leaving him very little time to grab his cane and hat, although he was grateful for his bad habit of sleeping fully dressed.

"What is going on?!" Roman shouted to the first guy who passed in front of him.

"Enemies at the entrance! The rookies tried to hold them, but they got murdered!" The faunus reported, then ran to the entrance, ready to die for the cause.

"Roman!" The lieutenant shouted to Roman as he got closer, obviously not ready to die just yet for the cause.

"Gather your forces by the train, we are moving." Roman told to the large faunus, who nodded in return.

Oobleck watched how the plan was put into motion, seeing the frightening level of effectiveness; the first group was successful, forcing a sizable force of White Fang members to enter the zone between the entrance and the first open area, smoke and the sound of gunfire had forced the entering faunus to run in guns blazing, hitting nothing, while placing themselves as easy targets for the defecting members… it was a bloodbath.

"It worked…" Oobleck muttered, watching the nearly fifty White Fang members dead in the floor, and the other thirty dying of blood loss at the side.

"Now, to step two. To all of you who simply want to make a run for their freedom, please, take a moment to place a bullet in the head of every surviving enemy; we need to stop a large scale terrorist attack." Nobunaga loudly said, earning nods from the defecting faunus.

"WAIT! They are already incapacitated; there is no need to…" Oobleck tried to interrupt, but was immediately stopped.

"Would you risk you family to be executed for your kindness? Unless you can guarantee that the families of each one of these redeemed persons will be safe from White Fang retaliation, you better not interrupt the mission." Nobunaga quickly cut down any notions of disobedience; for the faunus it was an obvious action, as they knew that if any of these guys managed to make it back to Adam, they and their families will be hunt down.

"My lord, we have little time; our informant says that the train is being loaded as we speak." Ranmaru quickly informed, making everyone aware of the danger ahead.

"Right; we are going to stop this madness right now, but I need to ask for any number of volunteers to remain behind to cover our exit if any number of enemy forces doesn't board the train we are going to assault. No one is forced to stay, but I will truly appreciate it." Nobunaga said as parting words with the defectors, and then turned to march into the underground tunnels, closely being followed by his team, the white knights, and the reluctant teacher.

"I'm staying; anyone willing to help is welcome." Jerry said to the defectors, earning a small number of nods; the rest still began to execute the surviving members of the White Fang, as they will not endanger their loved ones.

Roman was getting hysterical, for there was nothing ready, and he could feel the pressure of the firing squad already; perhaps it was the fact that he, and pretty much everyone was caught with their pants down, or maybe the fact that the entire group of weaklings had been stationed at the entrance as punishment for not dealing with the hunters, but he had earned a storm of chaos and yells of panic.

"Quickly! Get into the train with only what you can carry!" The lieutenant shouted to his loyal troops, who were trying their best to remain in order, with no success at all.

"Neo! Get the bombs armed, and activate the security system for our departure!" Roman shouted to the midget, who gave thumbs up at his orders… if only he knew that the security system, or more likely mine field and automated turrets were never armed to begin with…

"The train controls are still locked!" One of the White Fang members suddenly shouted, earning the attention of the leaders, and their fury.

"What?!" Both Roman and the lieutenant shouted at the same time, making the guy regret being the one to carry the message.

Ruby had tried her best not to think on what she was actually doing, instead favoring looking at the reason behind it; she used her weapon to prevent disaster, to save lives, and to protect what she loved, but that didn't change what she could understand. Crescent Rose has already tested blood; back at the entrance, she had been approached by enemy forces, forcing her to finally take three lives, in a single swing; she had forced down the vomit and the shock back then, knowing that giving in could mean losing her beloved boyfriend, who once again was killing in order to protect her dreams.

"I see Trochwick and a huge White Fang guy, they are aboard the train. Most bad guys are trying to bring in what they can, and can see a small group mounting guard." Ruby reported while looking through Crescent Rose's scope, delighted of having such a clear view of everything thanks to Kanetsugu's work, but dreading to keep taking lives.

"Neo says there are three snipers on the roof to the right, and one to the left." Ranmaru said to her, while looking at Neo's text; explosions nearby were extremely useful to keep the White Fang in panic, as they were shouting that the atlesian army was advancing upon them; apparently no one was ready to face a true assault, but Nobunaga had been quite clear that there won't be any risks taken, especially for the girls.

"Got them!" Ruby replied while taking quick shots to the snipers, ending their lives swiftly, both in mercy and to not alert the others of how close they really were.

"Roofs are clear!" Ruby shouted through her scroll, signaling that there was no reprisal from above.

" _ **Left alleys, clear!"**_ Weiss' voice sounded in reply, obviously stating that Mitsuhide had cut down most of the opposition.

" _ **Right alleys, clear!"**_ Blake's voice came next, meaning that there were no more obstacles in their path to the train.

"Sequential charges set! I hope this goes as smooth as you have made everything up to this point." Oobleck was the last to report, throwing in his own insecurities about this convoluted plan, although he would not deny the effectiveness shown this far.

"Ok, Rubes; let's move out!" Yang called as she got ready to murder anything that may come out of the shadows to endanger his little sister.

Roman kept cursing his luck, repeating over and over that this was karma, and that this was all the fault of that Cinder woman; the controls of the train were still locked due to changes in the programming, most of his forces had been obliterated by what could only be an atlesian raid, and to make it worse, the train wasn't fully loaded. There was one good thing though, the only bright side to the situation; Foxy had been gone by midnight, and was most likely safe, far away from this pandemonium.

"There! The controls are now unlocked!" The White Fang member at the helm shouted in an almost hysterical voice.

"Then make it move already!" Roman shouted, making the faunus guy start the engine, making the heavy vehicle move.

"Damn it! Most of the weapons and armor was left behind…" The lieutenant growled, knowing that with so little numbers, and so few weapons, their operation would not succeed.

"How the hell did the atlesians got wind of this?" Roman asked to no one, unable to decide between blaming the most likely weak links, or if to mention the idea of having a spy among their ranks.

"Hostiles have boarded the train!" A White Fang member shouted as he entered the control room.

"Then grab some cargo and deal with them!" Roman shouted back, showing his absolute exasperation.

"Roman, we better activate the bombs." The lieutenant suddenly said, making Roman grin in return, while Neo had to hide her face of dread.

"Right; Neo, the remote control!" Roman suddenly said, returning to his melodramatic persona; he decided that if things have gone wrong already, the he would at least unleash horror and nightmares on everyone.

Neo watched in absolute horror how Roman began to activate the last bomb, and not the first; the exact same bomb she was unable to disarm…

Getting a hold of the last wagon had been easy, fighting the couple of enemies on the next had posed no problem, and now, the teacher and both teams were about to storm what little was left of the terrorists.

"The bombs may be deactivated, but we can't afford to let them carry such things into the city; miss Belladonna, cut the wagon off!" Oobleck ordered as he watched the tribesmen butchering what little opposition was left.

"Yeah, right!" Blake replied while getting ready to cut the last wagon, knowing that if Neo had missed one of the bombs this would be the one; she was surprised when the wagon disconnected itself…

"The wagon disconnected itself!" Blake informed in distress, knowing that this was not part of the plan, then they saw it detonate with a large explosion, sending the wagon up, and breaking the ceiling of the tunnel; the light of the morning was not the only thing to enter from the hole though.

"Oh no! They weren't planning to carry the bombs into the city; they planned to bring the grimm into it!" Oobleck finally shouted, getting scared faces from most of the students.

"These bastards! Ranmaru!" Nobunaga immediately shouted for back up, almost smiling when he noticed Ranmaru already checking the bomb in the wagon they were in.

"Disarmed and disconnected! Neo only left the last one active!" Ranmaru shouted back, earning just a small amount of relief.

"We still need to stop the train!" Oobleck shouted, not wanting to mention that the deranged leader of the terrorists may be thinking in using the train as a battery ram.

"Right! Blake, take Yang, Ranmaru, Weiss and Mitsuhide; enter the train and go for the engine room and use the brakes. The rest of us will keep the enemy out here." Nobunaga quickly ordered; all thoughts of questioning him ended when the wagons began to separate, meaning that Torchiwck would surely notice the foul play very soon.

"MONSTERS! How you dare to serve the Abyss? How you dare to even think to guide the darkness to the innocent?! I'll serve the people pure of heart, I'll kill you all!" Kanetsugu shouted, burning in divine fury as he noticed what the plan of the White Fang was; he earned the full attention of the White Fang members coming out for them, so Blake took this opportunity to guide her team into the train.

Blake's team had entered without problem, and were quick to advance inside the train; what little presence of White Fang members were inside was quickly mowed down by precise strikes, all aimed to vitals for quick deaths, for the time to fool around and act in innocence was long gone, because this was war. Two wagons later, they found a single person standing in their way…

 **There is a camera watching us.** Neo's sign, while small, was enough to give a small pause to the group; then Yang took the initiative.

"I'll keep her busy, you go on!" Yang shouted while shooting at the mute's feet with her explosive rounds, forcing her to make a back flip, and generating enough smoke to ensure that the others could pass their 'enemy' with ease.

"Now this is between you and me, short stuff." Yang said while approaching the illusionist, who gave a mischievous wink to the blond bombshell; soon they started a short range brawl, leading up to a grappling contest, which ended with Yang shooting the camera by accident.

Blake and what was left of her team managed to reach yet another wagon, just to find a most unwelcome sight.

"Oh no…" Blake muttered at the sight of the lieutenant, who, as she feared, was carrying his horrible chainsaw.

"Blake, you go and stop the train, this one is mine." Weiss said with fury on her voice, because she recognized this bastard, the one who claimed the lives of his uncle, and two boyfriends.

"You are not doing this alone, Weiss." Mitsuhide proclaimed, getting ready to claim the life of a high profile enemy, aching to shout to the heavens that he had defeated an enemy officer.

"Do you think I'll let you pass?" The lieutenant sneered at the group, seeing them as nothing but kids; he failed to notice the glyph below his feet though.

"Of course you will." Weiss replied with a smug face, sending the lieutenant to crash against the ceiling, allowing Blake and Ranmaru to continue their journey.

"Hehehehe… I'll finally drink Schnee blood today." The lieutenant said in a creepy voice while standing up, raving his chainsaw for more effect; Mitsuhide and Weiss simply stood their guard, ready to see this confrontation to its bitter end.

Torchwick was seething, enraged at the turn of events; first the bombs did not explode as it was intended, sans the first one, then the intruders had turned out to be the damned headhunter and his friends, which of course perfectly explained why his forces were mowed down like training dummies; to make thing worse, the battle between the cat burglar and the blond bombshell not only destroyed the camera that was watching them, but the damage somehow affected the entire surveillance system, blinding him from what was happening both in and out of the train… then the door of his wagon opened.

"TORCHWICK!" Blake shouted as she made a jump at the sociopath, who responded with a shot from his cane, just to find that it was a shadow clone; being used to that, he instantly aimed downwards, making a blind shot to where he knew that the cat girl will be standing.

"You are not allowed to touch her." Ranmaru said as he quickly put himself between his lady and the miscreant, cutting the shot with his nodachi.

"What the fuck?!" Roman shouted after seeing the display of loyalty and skill, almost missing the already jumping Blake.

"You are going down!" Blake shouted, gaining the attention of the sociopath, who tried to aim his cane again, just to find his hand being cut from his arm, leaving him defenseless.

"GAAHHH!" Roman shouted in pain, first for losing his hand, again, and then due to the exceedingly fast combo applied by the cat girl, who seemed to multiply to rain down slashes all around him in a single second; an instant later, he was on his back, hurting all over, and in no position to resist.

"Stay down! Ranmaru, I'm going to the engine room to stop the train; you stay here to keep this guy from escaping. I want to question him about his involvement with the White Fang, but if he moves, kill him." Blake gave her orders, and then dashed to the next wagon.

Roman looked at the pretty girl that was keeping an eye on him, and instantly noticed the long and delicate looking blade caressing his neck; he really didn't want to stay for the interrogation, so, he tried to start a conversation to distract who he could tell was a quite pleasant girl.

"So, I believe the blond one called you cutipie?" Roman asked while slightly tilting his head in an amicable way, earning a pleasant smile from Ranmaru. Blake forgot one very important detail when giving orders to her faithful servant, and that is that said servant would quickly catch up any loophole that would allow him to spill blood, and take lives.

"Die." Ranmaru said with the happiest tone that Roman had ever heard, and then, in a single swift motion, the blade cut through flesh and bone, separating his head from his body, ending his life without anything more than a gasp…

Meanwhile…

Yang and neo had been struggling, although for a different reason than a fight; Neo had been both grateful and giddy at the prospect of finally being safe, one step closer to claim freedom, and be done with that awful Cinder woman, all of this had made her go into the initiative of hugging and kissing the blond bombshell; Yang, however, didn't take it kindly, as the only girly lips she wanted to touch hers, belonged to her boyfriend.

"No! Stop it! Get off of me!" Yang shouted while trying to pry the shorter girl from her, who had an amazing grip, and a lot of agility to evade her powerful arms while not letting go of her.

To any outsider, the scene could be easily mistaken by a moment of weakness from the brawler, who seemed about to be taken down by the more agile and flexible midget; for a very specific outsider though, this was the moment to strike. Neo had only a split second to react, pushing Yang away while using her for impulse, barely avoiding the red blade that almost beheaded her, and could have left a nasty scar on the blond brawler.

The woman stood there, blade in hand, dressed in black and red, with a white helmet that was reminiscent of a grimm; her hostility and despise was palpable, but to Yang, her figure was more than shocking. Neo knew very well who this woman was, and knew that there was no way she was going to fight her, or allow herself to be caught by her; with nothing more than a tsk, she disappeared from sight.

"You…" Yang tried to say something, anything; that figure was strikingly similar to the pictures she had of her mother, a sad reminder that she had yet to bury that ghost of her past; the woman simple slashed the air, and created a portal, leaving a distraught Yang in the floor.

" _ **Yang, are you ok?"**_ Ranmaru's voice came from her scroll, successfully awakening her from her stupor.

"Yeah… on my way now." Yang replied, and then made a dash for the door.

The lieutenant was understandably confused, and scared; in his many years of murdering under the White Fang flag, he had never met foes like these…

"GUH!" The lieutenant grunted as he was assaulted by Weiss, who applied an insane barrage of thrusts with her weapon, breaking the guard of the larger faunus with ease, ending behind him.

"AGH!" The lieutenant shouted once more, for when he tried to turn around to use his chainsaw on the Schnee, the samurai boy had slashed his back, making blood flow through open gashes; he was without aura now, but he will not end this fight without drawing Schnee blood, or so he swore to himself.

"This is for all the good people you murdered!" Weiss shouted as she applied many dust effects to her attacks, leaving the guy blinded for an instant, all while Mitsuhide sheathed his katana, and closed his eyes.

"DIE BITCH!" The lieutenant shouted as he turned around, full intent on cleaving the young girl with the chainsaw, but when the chainsaw neared the crouched girl, Mitsuhide opened his eyes, and then everything on his sight was cut; first the teeth of the weapon sailed away with the chain band that had been holding them, then the metal body of the weapon fell in pieces, along with the hands of the large faunus.

"How… did you…" The lieutenant barely managed to mutter, just to fall backwards, while his legs fell forward, clearly dead.

"It's… finally over…" Weiss said as she looked at the body of her personal boogeyman, dead at the hands of her wonderful boyfriend.

"Anything to see you smile." Mitsuhide said in a tender voice that was strictly reserved for her alone, making her shed tears of gratefulness, then Yang enered the wagon.

"Heads up, lovebirds; we still have work to do!" Yang said to the white couple, but they noticed that she was shaken.

At the engine room…

Blake was having a difficult time, for the controls had been destroyed in a blatant display of madness, leaving no room to believe that Torchwick was not a deranged sociopath; that left her with the only option available to her, the emergency break.

"Come on! Work already!" Blake shouted to the massive leaver, who moved as if finding humongous resistance.

"My lady!" Ranmaru shouted as he entered the room, instantly moving to help his lady in the painstakingly job of manually stopping the train.

"This isn't working!" Blake was beginning to panic, feeling that she was already failing in the only task given to her.

"You are not alone!" Yang shouted as she joined them, using her superior strength, finally making progress, albeit minimal.

Outside…

Oobleck was still firing fireballs to the incoming terrorists, taking no pleasure in ending their lives, and feeling sick at how easily Nobunaga and Kanetsugu were doing the gruesome job; Ruby for her part, was using her scythe to great effect on the stolen paladins, dismembering the mechanized suits as if they were made of paper, then again, her tears were visible whenever she placed the final shot in the head of an enemy, or when she pulled the edge of her weapon over someone's neck. Oobleck was shaken from his observation when the train began to shook, result of the other team succeeding at reaching the engine room.

"What is happening with this infernal contraption?!" Kanetsugu asked in alarm, almost losing his footing; most of the terrorists though, were thrown to their deaths by the change in motion.

"The train is slowing down!" Oobleck shouted, obviously happy for seeing this part working.

"It is not enough! We are too close to the end of the line, and we are still going too fast!" Ruby shouted, for she checked her scroll map, while considering the speed and time.

"Then we need to take more drastic measures; Kanetsugu, do you think you can help me pull out a miracle?" Nobunaga asked to the battle monk, who nodded without hesitation, and then they began to run to the front of the train.

"What are you two doing?!" Both Oobleck and Ruby shouted, one scared beyond measure, as Kanetsugu was quick to put his health at risk for the sake of others.

"We are going to stop this cursed contraption!" Kanetsugu shouted back, forcing the scythe wielder to run after them; Oobleck could have followed, but there were stragglers to pick.

Blake, Yang, Ranmaru and Mitsuhide were now struggling to keep pulling the leaver, while Weiss used her mastery of dust to strengthen the metal bar, ensuring it would not break under such a brutal ordeal, but it seemed to be futile…

"Come on! Stop already!" Yang shouted while using all her might to induce more pressure on the breaks.

"We are still going too fast!" Blake commented, losing hope, but not loosening her grip.

"Don't give up, my lady; I know we can do it!" Ranmaru tried to cheer her up.

"This is going to hurt!" Mitsuhide finally shouted, calling up all of his strength to make a final push.

On the roof of the engine room…

Nobunaga and Kanetsugu reached the edge, and looked at each other; no words were needed, they were going to do something really stupid in order to protect their loved ones, and if asked about it, both will say that there would be no regrets, and no hesitation to do it again…

"YOU!" Nobunaga said as he jumped forward, seemingly anticipating another slow down on the speed of the train.

"SHALL!" Kanetsugu shouted along, jumping at the same time as the visionary, aiming to fall just an inch away from the train.

"NOT PASS!" Both screamed as their sword were stabbed in the ground before them, facing the train that impacted them in that very instant; their swords had been imbedded in the ground, and they poured all what they had in aura and spirit, forming a soul barrier that was unbreakable, but not unmoving. The train dragged them, but not without showing signs of slowing down at a faster rate.

Blake and her team were almost thrown away from the leaver, but quickly returned to apply pressure to it, for they had the imperious need to stop the moving machine at all costs.

Ruby had to use Crescent Rose to not fall from the train, as the change in speed was too great and too taxing for her lithe body.

Oobleck almost fell to his death too, grasping the edge of the roof with all his strength, noticing how most of the terrorists were thrown away to their doom; a small feminine hand quickly got a hold of him, and he noticed that he was being aided by the informant.

"KANETSUGU! SOMETHING IS BURNING!" Nobunaga shouted, for he could not see anything beyond sparks and twisting metal.

"I KNOW! WE ARE BURNING!" Kanetsugu replied, for he, better than anyone else, knew that to pull out this stunt, they will have to burn with the light of the heavens… meaning severe burns and mauled muscles, if they manage to survive.

"KANETSUGU!" Ruby shouted in panic, which grew into hysteria when she looked down to her boyfriend, who seemed to be ablaze while trying to stop the train with his own body.

"Oh no." Ruby muttered as she looked forward, for she was able to see the end of the line, slowly getting closer, slower, and then, just a couple of yards away, it stopped…

"Kanetsugu!" Ruby shouted once more, jumping down from the train to adi her beloved boyfriend.

"Hey, Ruby; look, we did it!" Kanetsugu said in an obviously pained voice, struggling to look strong, when it was obvious that he was about to collapse; he still took out his sword, and sheathed it.

"DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN!" Ruby shouted in a hurt voice, because for a moment she feared the worst.

"Oh, my love, you worry too much; this thing doesn't have the strength to be my end." Kanetsugu said in a poor attempt to calm down his girlfriend, who of course helped him to walk away.

"NOBU!" Blake shouted as she descended the train, because she saw Ruby walking out from the front, making her fear a very bad situation.

"Oh, hi… I won't lie to you, I can't move at the moment to hug you or celebrate." Nobunaga said after he finished struggling with his sword, he had only strength to crawl on his knees, and even that was pushing his limit.

"Oh, Nobu!" Blake broke into tears, knowing that if she had managed to accomplish her task; her boyfriend wouldn't have to do such a reckless thing.

"You have to be the craziest and most reckless huntsmen in training I've ever seen. Congratulation though, as you just saved the city, and a large amount of innocent civilians." Oobleck said as he caught up to them.

"Hey, anything for the ones we love the most!" Ranmaru cheerfully said, while carrying the head of the now defunct Roman Torchwick, planning to put it on a pike, or as a table decoration; Yang was hugging him in search of comfort though, something that he will delve into after getting out of the tunnels.

"Unfortunately, we have an even greater problem; the bomb that detonated earlier, opened a hole that made the grimm enter the tunnels, that means that we have a large concentration of grimms between us and our point of entry. We need now to rationalize our strength to push through this blockade and make it out; but I must warn you, there may be some loses before we can get to the surface, because the grimm will give us no quarter in our weakened state, but if you do everything I say, and when I say it, your chances will be higher!" Oobleck quickly put himself in command, taking advantage of the poor state of the tribesmen.

"As good as that sounds, why can't we use the service tunnels? At least we won't fight the larger grimm in there." Mitsuhide suddenly interrupted, while motioning with his body to the nearest door, still carrying Weiss bridal style, for she was dizzy, and her nose was bleeding, effect of using her semblance to such degree.

"Yes, of course!" Oobleck quickly said in hopes of looking less like an idiot, and then ran after the youngsters, who were opening the door without even waiting for him.

* * *

 **Magnus:** As you may have guessed, there won't be a "Breach" chapter, and for those of you who wonder what happened to Zwei, I'll explain next chapter, and don't worry, the little corgi will become a permanent character from now on.


	30. Aftermath

**Magnus:** Here comes the new chapter, just a bit of a follow up from the last one, to keep things in order; enjoy! And remember: Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** One day I'll catch up with season 4, one day...

* * *

 **Chapter 30**

 **Aftermath**

Ozpin was reading the report of the operation in Mountain Glenn, feeling equal parts of pride and dread at the uncanny results, and the possible ramifications; he felt pride at seeing the level of success, for the damage to the kingdom and his people was avoided, two important leaders of the enemy forces were permanently dealt with, and a massive amount of resources was reclaimed for the benefit of the kingdom; on the other hand…

"I hate this guy." Ozpin muttered as he read the other part of the report, for the fifth time. The visionary had shown a skill that many would kill to have; in the middle of hostile territory, he managed to turn enemies into allies, taking their fear of battle, and their lack of will to commit murder, just to turn them into obedient killing machines that had not shown hesitation in butchering former comrades; worse still, a small number of these temporary allies VOLUNTEERED to return to the HQ of the White Fang, to aid the cause of the visionary.

"I wish I could get rid of him…" Ozpin muttered once more, knowing that he could not, and would not, move against the visionary, for he was doing this for the greater good, for the kingdom, for ever-lasting peace, and to kick Atlas in the metaphorical nuts, claiming true independency.

"Now, to watch my part in the plan." Ozpin muttered once more, turning on the TV, just when the news was beginning…

"… _**in another shocking news; the large mobilization of atlesian forces this morning was finally revealed to be a large scale raid on an underground White Fang base located on the ruins of Mountain Glenn. Very few details have been given of the operation itself, or the level of success, but a few accounts claim that a major terrorist attack was stopped before it could began. General Ironwood has promised to give a public inform in a few hours, but we can assume that the count of casualties will not be gentle. Back to you, Cyril…"**_ Lisa Lavender reported in the screen, shocking locals and foreigners in equal way.

"Ruby, Kanetsugu, please be ok." Penny said with a strangled voice, while hugging Zwei in an over protective fashion; the little corgi simply gave a happy bark to her, and then liked her cheek, for he knew that they had everything planned, after all, the guys guarding her human owners smelled of war and blood in a scale that no one in the planet had.

"Finally! It is time for our army to shine!" Ciel said in obvious pleasure, for seeing her nation being the center of the news meant more glory to them.

"Mind the outbursts, control freak." Kage said, for they were still in the academy's cafeteria, and while the number of students was quite low, most still glared at her.

"Hey! There is nothing wrong in being proud of my kingdom." Ciel quickly defended, slightly lowering the intensity of the glares; she then turned to Leo, expecting him to finally side with her, but the large guy decided to pay even more focus on eating his food…

Cinder and her Team were just outside a large store, looking at the news through the window, action allowed by the teacher due to the shocking news.

"I guess is a good thing that the atlesians reacted so fast this time; now your Mistral buddies won't have to worry about being attacked by terrorists!" Professor Peach happily stated, failing to notice how horrible Cinder's face looked, obviously unable to watch her plans crumble in such a magnificent way.

In his temporary office, Ironwood kept reading the report, awed at the level of effectiveness, the reach of the carnage, and the ridiculously strong will and command of the visionary; not only he and his limited forces claimed victory, but also annihilated the opposing forces to the last man, all while recruiting enemies into his ranks, turning them into agents of his will; the enemy never stood a chance, and now the footing of the Abyss was even frailer than before.

"Forget about an invitation as a Black Ops operative, I'm making him the director of the entire division." Ironwood muttered as he finished reading the report for the third time, wondering what the limits of the young visionary were, and what would take to stop him.

"General, the press conference is ready to hear you." Ironwood's aide said as she entered, looking elated by the positive light the general and the army were bathed with right now.

The press conference was as vocal as it was expected, with all reporters asking questions ranging from how did they manage to learn about the terrorists, to how many casualties had been counted thus far; the General simply made a motion to get everyone to shut up, to listen to his words, and then he began to read the lengthy script that he and Ozpin had been working on, a document that greatly helped to mask the truth, while not telling lies…

"Allow me to start by giving proper credit to the ones who made this operation not only possible, but successful; Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, and two first year teams were in the area performing a search and destroy operation to cull down the growing grimm population, in a yearly effort to ensure the peaceful celebrations of the Vytal festival. It was during their second night in the area when they were attacked by White Fang forces, which prompted them to investigate their presence; once they discovered their underground operation, they made the correct decision, and called for reinforcements at Beacon academy, where I volunteered the forces that I had brought with me for the festival; said forces, while only armed to perform the token parade and demonstrations at the festival, showed no hesitation to answer the call…" Ironwood's speech was actually well received, as he had finally said why he brought such sizable force, while showing that he had respect for the work of the hunters; in his seat, Ozpin smiled, seeing how Ironwood truly abided by the plan, no doubt due to all the positive light he and his kingdom was receiving.

"I will not lie to you; the operation may have been successful, but it wasn't without casualties. The White Fang forces stationed at Mountain Glenn gave no quarter, showed no restrain or mercy, and gave no room for us to show otherwise; we were forced to take an approach that we had not taken in almost a decade, we were forced to take no prisoners, and ensure that no one escaped. I understand that the use of lethal force should be avoided whenever possible, but I assure you in this case it was unavoidable…" Ironwood's words struck deep within the reporters, and most likely the entirety of the kingdom as well; Ozpin knew that there was truth to the words and wording, but he was sura that should the public knew what truly transpired, things would go completely out of control.

"The terrorist were not only heavily armed, but in possession of powerful explosive devices that, according to their number and activity in the tunnels, were aimed at key buildings and structures, no doubt filled with innocent civilians during the coming festivities. As much as I would like to praise my soldiers, their success was attained only by the intervention of the students in the area; the terrorists, once seeing themselves at disadvantage, used on of the bombs to try and reduce our numbers, and should one particular student had not used his semblance to protect the soldiers, the story would be much different. I am ashamed to admit that if not for some miscalculation from the commanding officer, this student wouldn't have ended with such grievous injuries; as such, I guarantee that the efforts of the student, Kanetsugu Naoe, will be remembered by my kingdom for generations to come, and I'll personally see that he receives the very best health care my kingdom has to offer, so he can participate in the coming tournament without problem…" Ironwood's words earned gasps of surprise and horror, because that name has been growing in popularity at an alarming rate, and now the entire kingdom will be watching him in order to protect their beloved hero; Ozpin had to suppress a giggle, because he could see Nobunaga's reasoning, that the agents of the Abyss will now solely focus on the battle monk, and no doubt will try a move on him due to the critical state of his health… that left the headmaster thinking; what would be needed to actually hurt the battle monk? The train obviously put a dent on his aura reserves, but he had came out of it unscathed, meaning that it would require an actual army to hurt him, and army that neither Vale or Atlas had.

Meanwhile, in a bullhead in its way to Beacon…

"Why do I have to play the role of the injured man?" Kanetsugu asked, fully annoyed by unnecessary amount of bandages on his body.

"Because this way, the enemy will think that you are no longer the threat you were; they will try to use less resources when the attack finally comes, and you'll be able to deal the final blow with strength to spare." Nobunaga explained, again, yet knowing that he had to placate the monk to earn his cooperation.

"But I have duties to attend, and how am I supposed to hug and cradle Ruby if I can't move?" Kanetsugu continued, moving his unusable arms toward Ruby, earning a soft giggle from the petite scythe wielder.

"Don't worry, Tsugu-tsugu; I'll cradle you this time." Ruby said while cradling the head of the battle monk to her small chest, ending any struggle and future arguments.

"Is this for real? Are you really allowing the atlesian army to steal the credit of your hard work?" Oobleck asked, not knowing if to feel humbled or insulted, for he had worked hard too.

"It is for the best; the less attention we cast upon ourselves, the less danger we'll be exposed to." Nobunaga replied, knowing that for the time begin, they will need to pay close attention to the agents of the abyss, and how they approach these news; he also watched Weiss, who was slowly recovering from her ordeal, knowing that she may need a little bit more protection than what Mitsuhide would provide.

"Are you two ok?" Blake asked to the girly pair, for she understood that there was something wrong with them, especially when she noticed that Ranmaru had surrendered the head of their foe to the atlesians without offering any resistance, and Yang had not made any witty comment since they got out of the train.

"Yang saw something there, and she needs time to cope with her feelings; don't worry, my lady, I'll take good care of her." Ranmaru replied in his characteristic voice, but with an undertone on it, something that was undistinguishable from love to his girlfriend, or hatred toward what had her in this state.

In his seat, Oobleck began to see that this was not what it seemed, that the students had been ready for this mission the whole time, and that they actually expected things to go awfully bad; he then decided to save his questions for Ozpin, as well as suggesting having both teams go under a serious psychological exam…

Beacon's docks, sometime later…

Students, teachers and a certain famous reporter were huddled together at the edge of the docks, obviously guarded by some atlesian token force and the local police officers, all of them expecting to see the two teams that were involved in the atlesian raid; their excitement only grew when the bullhead arrived, and most went almost hysterical at seeing the small group coming out of the machine…

"Lisa here, at the docks of Beacon Academy; the bullhead has just arrived, and I can see the students that… Oh OUM!" Lisa dropped her microphone at seeing the scene; the first to come out were the teacher and the male student with the black plate mail, both looking as if dragged through the battlefield, but still able to fight, then most of the girls came out on their own feet, with the exception of the Schnee heiress, obviously being carried by her toy boy, but what had most gasping in horror, was the image of the priest being carried and then placed in a hospital gurney; seeing him unmoving and it obvious discomfort, with the reddened bandages covering most of his body, was more than enough to have everyone silent, and in dire need to punish the responsible for this atrocity; even the knowledge that all the terrorists were dead wasn't enough.

"Make way! We need to take him to the nursery!" Ruby, the leader of team RWBY, better known for being the girlfriend of the priest of the newest religion of the kingdom, shouted at the top of her lungs, obviously looking as if she had been dragged through the mud; the police didn't need to force the crowd to part away, for everyone instantly moved away from their path, those who believed in the priest and his religion wanted to mount guard around him, and ensure his recovery, and those who didn't believe, began to believe, for the priest has shown that even in the face of death, he will act on what he preaches.

"Excuse me! Professor!" Lisa called after the only adult in the group, but only after seeing that both teams were capable of moving on their own.

"DOCTOR!" Oobleck was quick to correct the reporter, who winced at his harsh tone.

"Sorry, doctor. Can you tell us what happened? Why was that student injured so badly?" Lisa asked, while the camera man focused on the tired Oobleck.

"He… saved everyone. Now let me go; I have to ensure my students receive medical attention." Oobleck replied, and then made haste to follow the two teams that had humiliated him in way too many ways.

The moment both teams arrived to the school, was the moment Penny darted to the nursery with the small dog in arms; she had been informed that the reports about the injuries had been purposely exaggerated, but she had been worried sick nonetheless. The idea of using the school's nursery instead of the actual hospital had hold merit, as it was far more secure thanks to the strong presence on hunters and the atlesian army, and the proximity to the shrine would ensure proper spiritual attention, at least in the eyes of the media, but that had been just lies to ensure that the teams would not be separated under any circumstance, and thanks to her involvement, Penny will be close to them too.

"MY FRIENDS!" Penny screamed in worry and distress as she entered the room that had been previously prepared for teams RWBY and NKRA, slightly startling the occupants.

"YIKES! Don't scare us like that!" Yang said after almost falling to the floor, thanks to her distraught state, and lack of coordination, which forced Ranmaru to reach for her, and not his nodachi.

"Sorry." Penny immediately replied, all while searching for her beloved friends.

"Don't worry, Penny; just be mindful next time, we are still trying to maintain the appareance of not being ok." Ruby replied, gaining the attention of the robotic girl.

"But Ruby, Kanetsugu… you don't look ok!" Penny said now, slowly approaching them; seeing a shaken and pale Ruby, resting over a heavily bandaged Kanetsugu, was not the image she wanted to save in her memory.

"Don't worry, Kokeshi-chan; I'm mostly unharmed, and these bandages are completely unnecessary. My dear Ruby, though, can make use of some warm hugs to tell her that she is not to be blamed for her actions, and that the land will not demand the blood on her hands." Kanetsugu replied, summarizing in elegant words what had the poor scythe wielder in such a miserable state.

"Oh, my dear friend! I'm sorry to hear that you had to partake in such a harrowing act!" Penny said as she hugged Ruby, leaving Zwei on Kanetsugu's chest, which the dog used as an excuse to lick the face of the heavily bandaged battle monk.

"Back off, you little and fluffy wild beast!" Kanetsugu said in a voice that was hard to recognize as unpleased, while Ruby enjoyed the attention and caring words of someone who actually understood her misery.

On the other bed, Blake had watched the entire scene, feeling no small amount of joy at seeing the affectionate display of emotions, and the rather large sensation of success at preventing such a massive disaster, but she was left worried, because she had finally witnessed the reckless abandon in which their boyfriends defended them, in which they threw themselves into the fire to see them reach their happy ending, and the dire consequences of such actions…

"Oh, Nobu; what can I do to stop you from hurting yourself?" Blake whispered to her boyfriend, who allowed exhaustion and pain to finally take their toll on him upon entering the room, not even reaching the bed to close his eyes, and sleep into unconsciousness; he had made an inhuman effort to look strong before the camera, and even at the gates of the school, but the truth is that he was feeling like a miserable ball of pain.

"You are not going to do such reckless acts of heroism, right?" Weiss said to Mitsuhide, not as a question, but as a masked order; she had been prescribed a long rest and a rich diet to recover from her ordeal in her reckless overuse of her semblance, but she could tell that what she did, wasn't even the beginnings of a spark compared to what Kanetsugu and Nobunaga did; she absolutely feared what her boyfriend would do if faced with a dire situation.

"You won't have to see me doing such dangerous action, I promise." Mitsuhide replied, making Weiss pout at such blatant avoidance of her request.

Meanwhile…

Cinder was fuming, one step shy of kill someone, quite close to incinerate the first person to cross her sight; one of her most cards had been lost, destroyed by a single reckless action done during a moment of vulnerability, all because the annoying professor had been miffed due to the constant use of the scroll, that had her confiscating the piece of technology for the entire day and night, only returning it during the moment of the atlesian raid…

"Well, shit." Mercury had the audacity to say, making Cinder eye twitch.

"Cinder, do we have a backup plan?" Emerald asked in real concern, almost earning Cinder's fury, but then her scroll rang, as if heralding a small ray of hope.

 **I'm still alive, saved by six surviving faunus. You owe me money.**

"Yes, we have a backup plan." Cinder finally replied after reading the message from the midget, now she needed to make sure that Adam was still cooperative.

Undisclosed location…

Adam was seeing red, a large chunk of his forces was now lost, along with a considerable amount of weapons and resources, all because a single move went wrong; the news about the survival of a handful of recruits was not promising, much less Cinder's intent on continuing with the plan…

"Do you really think we'll stick to your idea after this fiasco? The men and resources lost are more than enough to have me and everyone else packing and hiding until the storm has passed, and you insist in pushing on? There is no way you can convince me, bitch." Adam said through his scroll, hating the woman more with each passing second, especially her condescending tone.

" _ **Oh, but I know you will listen, and obey; more with this juicy incentive."**_ Cinder's reply was followed by an image sent by her, a picture depicting a happy looking Blake Belladonna… sitting on a human's lap.

"Where?" Adam's raging voice was enough to make the mad woman chuckle, as if savoring victory.

" _ **She is right here at Beacon, posing as a student, and quite the lover too."**_ Cinder's answer had the guy growling, earning a sadistic smile from the usurper.

"We'll be there." Adam's short answer was confirmation enough, as Cinder knew that he will do anything to get the girl back, and punish her.

" _ **Good boy! Now remember, there were survivors; you'll do good to remember to treat them well, as they may be able to tell you how the atlesians operate, and avoid further missteps."**_ Cinder finished her call, leaving a growling Taurus to plot his revenge.

Back at Beacon…

Glynda watched the youngsters that were now under her care, knowing that half of them had gone through a most harrowing experience, and taking comfort in that the other half had remained true to their word, and had kept them safe.

"Miss Rose, miss Polendina; please, try not to suffocate mister Naoe." Glynda said as the two quirky and adorable girls couldn't take turns to hug the priest, who seemed incredible bothered by the bandages and his inability to properly feed himself.

"Yes, sensei." Both girls replied with apologetic voices, still trying to remain glued to the battle monk.

She was aware of their real condition, of what truly had happened at that cursed place, and it was no less worrying for her; these were her favorite students, the embodiment of what the hunters should be, of what couples in the battlefield should strive for, so it had been truly disturbing for her to learn the level of recklessness shown in order to protect the girls.

"Miss Belladonna; how is mister Oda doing?" Glynda asked to the catgirl, who would not separate from her boyfriend even on direct threats of being expelled.

"He needs rest, maybe a month of tender care too." Blake replied, while caressing the head of her boyfriend, who was struggling to not show the pain resulting from his screaming muscles and sore bones.

The level of insanity that her students had to face baffled her even more, for she still didn't want to believe the plan that they had just stopped; to bring the grimm inside the walls of their city, at a critical moment like the celebration of the current state of peace, that had her blood boiling. She also remembered part of the report, and couldn't help but to smile at the prospect of her students to be able to show mercy, and even help those who actually didn't want to fight; twenty one ex-White Fang members were giving special forgiveness, and were returned to their families under new identities thanks to the efforts of the visionary; of course this was done after the faunus had spilled all the secrets they knew about the terrorist organization, but they looked happy to be out of such a mess.

"Mister Akechi, I know that the doctor said that she needed to properly eat, but miss Schnee is not going to be able to walk if you keep pushing food into her mouth!" Glynda gave a rather soft reprimand to the young samurai, for he seemed to find some form of sick pleasure in watching Weiss eat, to the point of hand feeding her, the third portion in a row.

"But she needs to recover, and this food is rather light, so…" Mitsuhide tried to form any plausible excuse to continue with his newfound pleasure, not that the heiress was complaining.

Then there was what annoyed her the most; Oobleck had not been able to behave, and thus had tried to harass her students with his annoying existential questions, worse still, he had tried to take command in multiple occasions, which no doubt distracted the visionary from performing the perfect plan. When he had tried to keep his question in the nursery, she personally kicked him out, colorful language included.

"And you… why aren't you causing trouble?" Glynda finally asked to the girly couple, voice full of distress, which only grew at seeing those faces full of seriousness, showing their need to feel loved and cared for, just like kicked puppies.

"Yang is having some trouble finding peace of mind and heart, please, feel free to ignore us; we'll be back in our usual faces shortly." Ranmaru replied in a mellowed voice, freaking the combat instructor even more.

It was at this point that the headmaster entered the room, not failing to notice the poor state of the youngsters, for none of them had lifted a weapon at him in their usual antics; he tried his best to look grandfatherly, wise and caring, for he needed to add a small detail to the visionary's plan, something that he knew they needed, and he could make use of…

"First, allow me to congratulate you all again for the success of the mission, and let me also say that I'm thankful for your show of mercy at the group of misguided faunus that you allowed to live and return to their families." Ozpin stated, smiling fondly at their battered forms, and finding obscene delight at getting nothing more than a pained grunt from his much hated nemesis.

"Thank you?" Weiss was the first to speak, for she didn't found the mission as well done as she had wanted; there had been too much blood, and too many good guys injured.

"I wish it had been… cleaner." Ruby said on her spot, getting a tight and warm hug from her boyfriend.

"I know, and I understand; to help you all recover, and to keep you protected in such weakened state, I propose you all take two to three weeks of vacation. I think that mister Naoe could find that Patch Island can offer a better environment to help him heal, while miss Rose and miss Xiao Long could spend time with their family to recover from their trauma." Ozpin's declaration surprised everyone, for it was incredibly generous of his part, and something they clearly needed.

"Of course I'll understand if no one wants to visit Atlas this time of the year, I think that the current climate there is not precisely kind to sore bones; so, anyone who want to stay, can do so, knowing that you'll be free to move around and going to town without restriction." Ozpin's words were received with a salty chuckle from the heiress, and another groan from the visionary; Nobunaga had to agree to his plan though, as that will give the impression of Kanetsugu being in worse condition, while leaving him out of the reach of the agents of the Abyss, that will also give him some time to make even more planning, without worrying too much about Kanetsugu disagreeing, after all, a scroll call was enough to perform divination.

Ozpin wasn't doing this out of the goodness of his heart, he was doing this in an attempt to study the seemingly unbreakable ties of the tribesmen; he knew that Nobunaga and Mitsuhide were something more than rivals, showing support to each other only through mutual need; Kanetsugu had the power of a demigod, which meant that he should have no trouble dealing with the Abyss alone, so he needed to study them, study how they went on their own, to taste freedom, and see if he could use that knowledge for his own gain once the Abyss is dealt with… not seeing Ranmaru looking at everyone's necks like a butcher looking at a pig was a much needed boon too.

Torchwick's secret hideout…

Neo was looking at her scroll intently, she had introduced the code to drain all of Roman's founds and transfer them to her own account, she only needed to punch one final button, and then all that lien will be in her much better hands, but she found that she couldn't. In the bedroom, just next door, crying and sobbing was heard, it was her much hated enemy, that fox faunus girl that had been always at Roman's side…

"Why? Why did you leave me alone? Why did you send me outside so you could die without me?" Her voice was heartbreaking; for it finally clicked on the mind of the burglar that Foxy had been such a bitch because she felt that Roman may look favorably at another girl, namely the only other human girl in the group.

Neo was aware of the final message that the fox faunus received, for it was a farewell, and access to his bank accounts; it was perhaps the sweetest thing that could have come out of him, and the midget knew better than to try to become an even worse bitch. Knowing that Foxy would never return to the White Fang also helped to leave the hideout without a single word, after all, Foxy had killed Deery and her entourage to get away… and she hadn't been clean or kind, if the bloody mess at the entrance was any indication.

Meanwhile, at a base in Atlas…

Winter was having conflicting feelings; on one hand, her little sister had been part of a full blown assault against the White Fang, meaning that a Schnee finally took part in dealing a massive blow against their sworn enemies, that also meant that her little sister had seen blood, and probably spilled it herself, and that was something she had hoped wouldn't not happen until very late on her life, if at all; on the other hand, Weiss had proved her point about how worthy was her tribal boyfriend.

"They faced odds of almost one to a hundred… how you win with that kind of odds?!" Winter shouted to the ceiling, knowing that the most daring odds ever faced by a victorious atlesian squad were of one against fifty.

The numbers and resources found in the underground installation had been daunting, meaning that they had faced a real army, and not a bunch of upstarts; the level of carnage, and the descriptions of the tactics used had left her speechless too, because the tribesmen of Edo had shown both the savagery expected of the nomad tribes, and a very acute sense of tactics. She had disagreed to the decision of allowing the defecting faunus to leave to their families without reprisal, but the word of the general was absolute, and she could tell that he was going to make use of them in the near future.

"Maybe… I should take a few days off during the Vytal festival, to get to know this boyfriend of yours, little sister." Winter finally said t herself, while writing a petition for a week of stationing at Vale.

Later that night, at the heroes' fountain…

 **I'll be at the fountain, come alone.**

The message on her scroll had yang losing what little comfort and peace she had regained, and forced her to obey; she knew that moving alone was against Nobunaga's orders, as well as against her safety, but she needed to know, she needed to put an end to that dream that had become a nightmare, she needed to meet her.

"You… you are…" Yang's words were making her choke; she was standing there, the living image of her mother, the same image that she had kept on her scroll, and the one she had been looking for so desperately, that she almost killed Ruby in the process.

"We need to talk." Her voice was cold like the winter, seemingly uncaring about the feelings of the young blond before her, making Yang wish she had brought Ranmaru with her.

It was then that Raven made her existence known to her daughter, and also told her some truths about their shared blood, making the blond brawler wish to never have met her, or even search for her in the first place…

* * *

 **Magnus:** By the time this is up, the first chapters of this story will be revised and improved to make them easier to read, as if in less mistakes and misspellings; that being said, I have a small challenge, I want to see if someone is willing to make a "RWBY cast reads fanfiction" of this story, if someone does, remember to tell me to give it a read!


	31. Welcome to the Family

**Magnus:** New Chapter! And this time is comedy, so enjoy! And remember: Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** I own a copy of Rune Factory 4, and I'm struggling to find the oportunity to make a story with those characters.

* * *

 **Chapter 31**

 **Welcome to the Family**

On Cinder's orders, Emerald was eavesdropping the conversation inside the nursery; it had been extremely difficult to get this close, even for her, because there was a large concentration of cultists outside the room, and inside were not only the target, nurse and medic, but the silver eyed girl and the atlesian general too, leaving her with only the window to hang out… in the third floor.

"Doctor, is he stable enough to be moved?" Ironwood asked to the resident doctor, who shuffled through the medical records before giving an answer.

"It would be most unwise to move him, but I'm pretty confident he will be able to survive. Are you sure you can't bring the medics and the equipment here?" The doctor asked back, sounding apprehensive about this decision.

Emerald had been left speechless when stories about what transpired in Mountain Glenn began to circulate, speaking of the tactical prowess of the dark knight, and the infinite strength of the priest; she had tried to dismiss them, but Cinder had been spooked.

"He saved an entire squad of my finest soldiers, so the least I can do is granting him the very best medical attention that my country can afford; not doing so would be even worse that not giving a medal of honor to the leader of his team." Ironwood continued, obviously in need to repay such a brave soul… or most likely wanting to weaponize the priest and his workings.

"And will he be safe? With this whole affair gone public… the White Fang will want retribution, and he can't defend himself right now." Ruby was the one to speak now, sounding not only afraid, but at the verge of tears.

"Of course, young lady; the hospital in question will be undisclosed to the public, and all information of admission and resources will be kept as a military operation." Ironwood replied now, trying to sound caring, and failing miserably to do so.

"I'm going with him." Ruby said with fearsome certainty that left no room for arguments.

"Whatever, you can move him at your earliest convenience." The doctor finally said in defeat, knowing very well that there was nothing else to say.

"Then we move tonight." Ironwood replied, answering Emerald's question; the mirage thief descended from her perch as soon as she could, wanting to report to Cinder immediately, failing to notice the other pair of eyes watching her with contempt.

"Go, foolish and idiotic thief, go and carry my will, your very own downfall." Nobunaga muttered to himself with self-satisfaction; this was supposed to be Ranmaru's duty, but he had reported that Yang was in dire need of attention, and the visionary thought it would be too cruel to even suggest that she could be left alone for any length of time.

Meanwhile…

Yang was looking at herself in the mirror, puffy eyes telling the world that she had cried herself to sleep, and off looking eyes denoting that she was still far from healed, she was too busy with her own emotions to even notice what Ranmaru was doing to her. Yang's mother had done an extraordinary job at breaking her, using words, and lack of emotion to deliver them…

" _Do you really want to know the why of it? Why I left? Or perhaps why did I even bother to have you in the first place? You are still trying to be like the others, like that pesky little girl you call sister. You already know what you are, the only thing you really can be; we have the same blood, true hunter's blood, we only live in the battle, in the warmth of the bloodlust, basking in the cold of the death; we survive where others cannot, where nobody else can… But you already know it, you've already felt it, embraced it; didn't the first blood sweet taste? Wasn't it deliciously warm? Do you really think you'll be able to live playing house now that you've tasted such a thing? No, of course not."_

Raven's words had been cold, sounding like echoes without emotions, despite the cynical attitude; Yang had tried to deny it, to even curse her for talking bad about Ruby; but she knew that there was truth to her words, for even after the mission at mountain Glenn was over, she couldn't wait until the next bloody battle, and the chance of caving someone else's skull.

" _The why of it… I tried to settle down with your father because it was demanded of me, because Ozpin thought that I was some wild dog who needed to be chained, even if only for a time. Did you know that Taiyang tried to tame me? Taking me out for dates, bringing me homemade food to my bed? Then he rewarded me for accepting those with spars, and even getting me small animals to satiate my needs, all to get me to accept a more normal life; it was cute at first, tolerable later on… but then you came into the picture, and I was reminded who I really was. I don't expect you understand, not with that bright choice you already made by turning lesbian; don't mistake that for sarcasm, I think it was for the best, having ties to a peaceful home can only end in pain for everyone, but that is something you'll only understand with a child in your arms."_

Yang was completely broken by the time her mother finished her poor explanation, leaving her feeling like an unwanted child, and with the need to bleed herself to death.

" _You and I are not family, but we are one and the same; one day you'll ditch your girlfriend, and then you'll be truly free to answer the call of our blood. If you have any doubts about this, just look at yourself in the mirror, at our hair, our trophy and pride, our source of strength; you may no have noticed it yet, but you've never allowed anyone to touch it, much less comb it, because that is a symbol of being tamed, something we would die before allowing it. Now go, stop chasing after me, try to live normally for a time longer; the blood will call you, and then we'll meet again."_

Raven's parting words made her run, run without looking, with tears blocking her view, and sorrow making her deaf; it had been a miracle that she ended up crashing into a frantic looking Ranmaru, who was too worried for her to even try to chastise her for moving on her own at such a critical time.

"It is done!" Ranmaru's happy voice brought her back to reality, making her blink and try to turn around to ask what was done; Ranmaru just gently held her head, and made her turn to look at the mirror in front of her…

"What and how?!" Yang shouted her surprise when she looked at her reflection in the mirror, becoming speechless at the sight. Her hair was no longer the rebellious mess she used to have at all times, instead, it was combed back, to the point it could have passed for plain long hair, if not for the extensive work that her boyfriend had done without her consent; braids started at her temples, going all the way to the way to the back of her head where they met, and formed a wider braid that extended all the way down; it was not made of the entire length of her hair though, it only had a third of it, making it look like a tiara at the top of her head, and a braid extending over her now cascading hair. Her once proud and rebellious hair was now the image of beauty and calmness, but the most glaring thing she could notice, is that she couldn't see her mother's reflection in there.

"You are who you are because of the path that you've walked, for the choices you made, and I love you as you are, for simply being yourself; but you'll become what you want to become, not because you are destined to walk a definite path, or for inheriting a trait, but for the choices you'll take. Whatever you want to do, whatever path you wish to take, or even forced to take, know that I'll be there for you, holding you hand, mending your wounds, and remembering you what wonderful person you are." Ranmaru said as he hugged her; Yang had spilled everything to him, from her sad past on her chases, to her new insecurities and hatred toward her mother, and Ranmaru had listened to all of it, knowing that she was more alike to him that she'll ever know.

"Oh… OH! CUTIEPIE!" Yang shouted while turning around, just to jump on her boyfriend, full intent on express her happiness and love…

At Cinder's room, later that night…

Emerald was beginning to question the wisdom of her obedience, her actions were the result of Cinder's orders, and yet, her leader seemed to only get more stressed, or infuriated, with every order completed; first it had been the acquired knowledge of Kanetsugu's health, then the information about where they were going to take him to, and now…

"What do you mean you can't strike down that bullhead?" Cinder asked through her scroll, barely containing her voice; Emerald was not amused by the prospect, seeing Cinder as a weak willed leader who couldn't wait for a better opportunity to strike.

"I know it is going through hostile territory, but it carries the guy who caused the deaths of your comrades!" Cinder kept her demand, getting even more agitated with each word; for a moment, Emerald thought that this was the result of her not acting fast enough, of not being able to seduce the guy earlier, or assault him in the bed for better results, but seriously, the guy had been always surrounded by like dozens of people.

"Fine! I'll get the information about which hospital he is being housed then, but you better do a good job at killing him. Stupid animal!" Cinder finished, saving the insult for after ending the call; Emerald secretly wished the strike to fail, so she could have a go with the priest, pleasant dreams about bindings, leather and whips had been plagued her for a week now, and the priest has been the main focus of those.

Morning of the next day…

A lone bullhead arrived at Patch Island quite early, just outside the main village and in the path to a certain home in the nearby woods; the location was mostly secure, sporting an incredibly low concentration of grimm activity, and not a single White Fang incident ever recorded. Inside the bullhead though, things were beginning to look dire for one of the passengers.

"Where are we? And why are we here?" Ciel asked in obvious confusion; her team had been selected by Ironwood to perform an exercise about VIP transport and vigilance, but then they were greeted with quite the stride of surprises.

"This is Patch Island, our home; don't worry, no one else knows we are here." Ruby replied with simple honesty, confusing the logistics expert even more, well, no more than seeing Kanetsugu walking on his own in perfect health.

"Yeah, it's very nice this time of the year, you'll love it!" Yang replied while descending, along with her boyfriend; Ciel turned to look at the boys of her team, just to meet equally confused stares, then she turned to her team leader.

"Kanetsugu Naoe has an unprecedented healing capability, his survival and recovery were never in doubt; this move was meant to throw off balance the White Fang terrorists, and to cover up how dangerous he truly is, so further attempts on his life will be done with much less intensity, thus lowering the danger to his person." Penny explained in such a detailed way that made Ciel even angrier than before; apparently someone thought that the quirky girl was better suited to handle sensitive information than her, the logistics expert.

"RUBY! YANG!" A blond male shouted as he ran to their location, putting Leo and Kage on guard, although Penny was quick to tell them to stand down.

"DAD!" Ruby and Yang shouted back, waving to their father; Kanetsugu and Ranmaru couldn't help but to smile at the loving father that their girlfriends had… then they grimaced when the two of them were pushed away when the father hugged both girls.

"My babies! You are finally home, and nothing bad will come to you here!" Taiyang kept babbling to a now embarrassed sisters; he had been informed about the incidents of Mountain Glenn, being reassured that what Ironwood had said in the conference was an exaggeration done on purpose to have both teams protected… ha hed not been informed of all the morbid details though.

"Dad, you are embarrassing me in front of my boyfriend!" Ruby finally shouted in distress, not wanting to keep looking like a spoiled little girl in front of Kanetsugu.

"Boyfriend?" Taiyang finally asked, looking intently at the battle monk, who now knew that he was going to enter a different kind of battlefield.

Sometime later…

Team PSTL was positioned on the nearby woods, knowing that this kind of exercise was menat for them to not be seen by the VIP, while keeping him in sight the whole time; while they had wondered what could possibly endanger such a strong person at first, now they had an idea of why they were needed.

"Don't you think he is overreacting?" Kage asked as he kept using his binoculars to keep an eye on the VIP, who was struggling to deal with the father of his fiancée.

"Says the guy who would kick any other guy in the nuts for looking unfriendly at any girl." Ciel shot back while trying read the debriefing for the third time, looking for anything that may have escaped her attention.

"Actually, I agree with Kage. The VIP has done nothing to warrant this hostility, and his fame is that of being respectful and proper; even the wildest rumors about his relationship with miss Rose don't go beyond holding hands, chaste kisses and… sitting on his lap." Leo reported as he took a turn at the binoculars, but his final words were enough to have Ciel reaching for the device, just to have Penny snatch it first.

"THEY LOOK SO ADORABLE TOGETHER!" Penny squealed at the sight, making the rest of her team look at her with questioning eyes. Inside the home, though, Taiyang was the exact opposite of pleased.

"Stop touching my daughter!" Taiyang finally shouted at the priest, with a tone that could be mistaken for a warning after watching a pervert lift the skirt of a young girl, or place his hands in a sensitive part, and not on such a simple and almost innocent action.

"Ruby, I think your…" Kanetsugu began to softly say to Ruby, who was sporting a rather adorable pout.

"He is my boyfriend! It is only natural for us to touch each other." Ruby interrupted her boyfriend as she made her argument.

"TOUCH?! You are too young to be touched! I'm not allowing him to touch you!" Taiyang went into the offensive, trying to scare the priest with his voice and features, but having no success at all.

"Why are you doing this to me? Why aren't you going this way with Yang?!" Ruby finally shouted in despair, forcing everyone to look at Yang and Ranmaru, who immediately looked as if caught red handed.

"Ah… well… we…" Ranmaru struggled to form any kind of excuse, not wanting to deal with his soon to be father-in-law in his usual fashion.

"That is different, two girls cannot have the same troubles as a boy and a girl can." Taiyang's words had the two couples go wide eyed, immediately noticing the confusion on the adult.

"Dad, actually…" Yang tried to be honest for once, not wanting to have Ruby be the only one to deal with this unfair situation, and wanting her boyfriend's masculinity be recognized for once.

"Honey, why don't you take your girlfriend to your room; that hair style looks amazing on you, and I bet it requires much more care than what you can give it alone." Taiyang's proposal had left the four youngsters speechless, leaving one feeling guilty for the free pass to get naughty, and another seething for not being able to deny her sister the happiness she knew deserved.

Later that night…

Ruby had been sent to her room, to play with her toys and not think on boys until the morning, much to her utter annoyance; Kanetsugu was left in the couch, but not alone, as Taiyang decide to hold a conversation with him, while preventing any funny ideas of him sneaking to Ruby's bed.

"What do you intent to do with my child?" Taiyang finally asked after a long staring contest, making the priest raise an eyebrow in honest confusion.

"I intend to marry her, see her happy and protected; removed from the battlefield if possible." Kanetsugu replied with honest and sincere words, still confusing the overprotective father.

"Only if possible?" Taiyang asked now, trying to grasp at any weakness to break the relationship that most likely will rob his baby daughter of her innocence.

"The tide of the darkness is vast and unrelenting; I'm afraid that I alone cannot stop it, not without help." Kanetsugu replied, making the blond adult frown; Taiyang didn't like it, the guy was not evasive, but he favored mystic speech over a more understandable language.

"And then what? Ozpin said you hail from the nomad tribes; do you have a way to give her the lifestyle she deserves?" Taiyang's question may have intimidated any other youngster, but Kanetsugu answered without missing a beat.

"A life in a well cared temple seems to be acceptable for her; I must admit that assimilating her love for complex mechanics and weapons will be difficult though." Kanetsugu's answer had Taiyang reeling back.

"A temple?!" Taiyang's shout of surprise was more than enough to warn the battle monk about the lack of communication between father and daughter, not that he had to ask for further explanation.

"Yes, a temple; Kanetsugu is a priest, something I already wrote you about. That letter is surely gathering dust among the others though; you didn't even open them, much less read them." Ruby said as she entered the living room, dressed on her pajamas, and holding her pillow; her words had been a low blow to the tired father, for he had come out of his shut down state way too slowly, slow enough to not know how his daughters were faring.

"I… well… what are you doing here?" Taiyang tried to divert the attention, trying to not admit that he had done a poor job to be a father, too poor to even try to be overprotective right now.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to sleep with my boyfriend. Yang is making too many noises, and I can't close my eyes without seeing blood and guts; that doesn't happen when I sleep with Tsugu-tsugu." Ruby said as she placed her pillow down, pushed Kanetsugu to it, and then went to lay on him, making Taiyang's jaw drop.

"You… you two already?" Taiyang found his voice fading away, and his heart sinking at the sight; Kanetsugu simply shook his head slowly.

"We've shared the bed a few times already, yes; but I have never touched her on the intimate level you believe. I want to call her wife before making her a mother, I want our children to grow up knowing that they were conceived in a well cemented family, and I would appreciate if you are there to be happy for her." Kanetsugu explained to the now distraught father, who looked at him with no little hatred.

"I don't like you, much less the way she is attached to you; you better have a good way of providing her with what she needs for me to accept you, or I won't allow you to…" Taiyang tried to make a final stand against this enormous level of change, but his own daughter was not having any of it.

"You've lost the right to make a call on who I can marry when you neglected me; uncle Qrow has more weight on his opinion than you in the matter, and I'm sure he would approve without a second thought. I'm also no longer innocent… too much blood to even try to explain that to you." Ruby said with absolute disdain, showing that behind that childish face, a young lady was hiding.

"WHAT?! What do you mean by that?!" Taiyang asked with alarm, making Ruby glare at him; she would have exploded right then and there, but light surrounded her, making her relax, helping her to fall sleep.

"During the mission at Mountain Glenn, she was forced to kill for the first time; it was a harrowing experience for her, and she needs special attention and care to deal with the shock of doing such a thing. Yelling, antagonizing her, and forcing her to take choices that are not her own are to be avoided." Kanetsugu explained as he began to caress the hair of his girlfriend, just as he hummed something sweet; Taiyang was left horrified, he had expected her to have seen blood during that mess, but to learn that his child had actually killed someone was a lot to take in.

"And what were you doing at such critical moment? Prying?" Taiyang asked with a low voice, already imagining cracks in the armor of this cheeky guy.

"I'm not a stranger to death and life taking; I ensured that a hundred of those murderous miscreants will never endanger my beloved Ruby, or anyone else for that matter." Kanetsugu explained with a voice that left no doubt about the hidden meaning; Taiyang slowly raise up, and went to make a call to Beacon; he just couldn't wrap his mind on the fact that his daughter was sleeping with someone who had actually killed more people than Qrow.

Next morning…

Taiyang woke up with a start, looking for his baby daughter and the deadly priest of doom; after a long and winded up chat with Ozpin, he decided to keep an eye on the pair, just to fall asleep a few minutes later, blaming the battle monk and his unholy aura manipulation skills, and not his own sleepiness. The lovely smell coming from the kitchen had hi more worried though, as he was not known for cooking that well, much less his rebellious daughter…

"Morning, girls; have you seen Ruby?" Taiyang asked after seeing Yang and Ranmaru cooking, feeling envious of the impressive skills of the cute girl.

"Morning!" Yang called back in a singing voice, obviously happy for how well the last night went for her.

"Morning. Penny came earlier, and invited them to the village for some exploration." Ranmaru helpfully replied, but Taiyang just stared at him with wide eyes; the girly pair couldn't help but to notice the gears turning in the head of the adult.

"Did you just tell me that they went out on a date, using as an excuse the quirky girl that came with you in the bullhead?" Taiyang suddenly asked with alarm.

"Dad, don't you think you are overreacting to things? It's not like they are going to do something naughty… I seriously doubt they know how to do such things." Yang tried to run interference for her sister, not wanting to see her frowning any more.

"NONSENSE! That guy is probably going to drain her allowance with false promises of repaying her back with stuff from his religion." Taiyang replied while looking for his scroll, wanting to call the mayor to warn him of the priest and his devious ways.

"I'm sorry, but, is this all because the money?" Ranmaru suddenly asked, gaining the attention of the adult, who had the decency of looking guilty.

"Yes! No! I mean… look, I really love my daughters, and I really want what is best for them; seeing Ruby with this guy made me realize that she needs to think things carefully; I may be acting a little too overprotective, but a tribesman with a new religion is hardly someone who can ensure the future of my child." Taiyang explained with a tired voice, knowing that he had little to say in such affairs.

"But you don't seem to mind about me and your daughter being together." Ranmaru called now, wanting to ensure that he had just understood the situation.

"That is different; you two are most likely going through one of those teenagers' phases…" Taiyang's words made Yang's eyes turn red for a brief moment, forcing her to interrupt him.

"DAD! It is not a phase!" Yang screamed her rage, not wanting anyone to say that her cutiepie would one day leaver her.

"Ok, well, even if it's not a phase you have little to worry about in the future. What if Ruby one day has a child, how is that guy going to provide for both with just preaching and living from what people may give at their temple?" Taiyang continued with his vision of things to come, this time earning blank faces from his daughter and her lover.

"Umm… Yang; do you think we should tell him about Kanetsugu's standing?" Ranmaru suddenly asked with apprehension, knowing that such action was against the orders from his lord, and yet knowing that doing so would help Kanetsugu greatly.

"What standing?" Taiyang asked, not amused at all; while he had actively avoided the knowledge that as hunters they were entitled an comfortable payment, he just needed to find a way to persuade his baby daughter to leave such a shady guy.

"I think I can't see another way out of this, cutiepie. Dad, what we are going to tell you is highly confidential, and may get us in trouble, but it is for the happiness of my little sister." Yang finally said, gaining Taiyang's attention.

Meanwhile, at the village…

"Come on, friend Ruby; your dad may be overreacting, but he is still your dad, and I'm sure he loves you." Penny tried to talk her dear friend out of her rage; the pout on Ruby's face had begun to diminish, meaning that there was at least some form of success.

"Is just… he doesn't have the right to judge Kanetsugu, or to tell me I can marry him. Uncle Qrow was the one who raised me, and I'm sure he would agree with me… even if he were to be sober enough to make a judgment." Ruby said, grateful for this opportunity to get all these feelings out of her chest.

"Just give him time, Ruby; I'm sure that once he gets to know Kanetsugu better, he'll love him, and even will call him son!" Penny said with uer usual smile, making Ruby smile in reflex.

"Yeah, of course… How are you dealing with your team, and your father for that metter?" Ruby asked now, wanting to repay all the time that her robotic friend had spent on her; Penny went stiff for a full second before giving her answer though.

"My father is… less than pleased; he didn't want me to come to your school so early, and he is not very fond of my teammates. As for my team, well, my two male companions had been showering me with a lot of attention lately, and I like it a lot; as for Ciel… I think she is jealous." Penny explained, going into a whisper with the last part, making Ruby go wide eyed at the implications.

"Penny, don't you think they may… umm… like you? As in, more than friends?" Ruby asked in a hushed tone, carefully eyeing the two guys that were talking with her boyfriend.

"Oh, most definitively! But don't tell them that I know, especially Ciel!" Penny replied in a very secretive way, making both girls go into frenzied giggles.

"Dude! You sure have guts to waltz into enemy territory like you own the place!" Kage said with a lot of respect toward the priest, who looked even more confused than before.

"I don't understand… a single word of what you said." Kanetsugu replied after giving up in trying to read the meaning of the commentary, earning a chuckle from the large blond faunus.

"He meant that you not only presented yourself before the father of your girlfriend, but entered his home, and held his daughter in your arms, while he looked ready to become hostile; that is a feat that not many can boast about." Leo explained with a hint of amusement on his voice.

"Ah, I see." Kanetsugu's answer gave away that he was still struggling to understand, both his situation and the curiosity of the two males that had carried him away from Ruby, who admittedly was just a a couple of yards away.

"So, what is your deal with Penny?" Kage finally asked what was bothering him and the militant faunus; having to compete with each other had been bad enough, but dealing with how easily Penny hugged the priest, talked about him nonstop, and even expressed her love for him and his girlfriend had been painful.

"She is a very dear, and much loved friend; a very beautiful heart and wonderful soul that deserves love and care. I just hope that more people can show her love too." Kanetsugu replied with a smile on his face, but this made both boys to share a look and a nod.

"Does that mean that you are not in a romantic relationship with our team leader?" Leo asked while trying to hide any traces of hope in his voice.

"No, I'm not. Besides, Ruby requires and deserves all my attention in that regard; I wouldn't dare to divide my heart that way and make her suffer." Kanetsugu's response triggered the boys, who instantly carried him a couple of yards away from the girls.

"Quickly, tell us what does she likes for dates, what she enjoys in physical contact?!" Leo immediately shot his questions, knowing that his orders about Ciel, and the needs of his heart were two different things.

"Scratch that! What makes her smile the most?!" Kage shot next, making the battle monk smile and let out a small chuckle, for he could see in their eyes their need to be noticed by the lovely girl.

"It is actually quite simple; first be honest to yourselves, then be honest to her. When two hearts align, love comes naturally, and stays permanently; if this doesn't happen, then you must let this love fly to freedom… just one more thing…" Kanetsugu said as he then placed one hand on each guy's shoulder; both boys were instantly brought to their knees by the immense pressure, there was no pain, but the innate knowledge that should the monk wished it, they would become a fine paste in the ground.

"If you make her cry, I'll make you dead." Kanetsugu's warning was given with a sweet and caring voice, obviously directed to Penny, and not them; both guys could only nod in clear fear, wondering why this guy doesn't use such an incredible force to subdue his girlfriend's father.

In the side lines, Ciel watched the two groups with disdain, wondering if the priest could spend a little bit of that extra love he seemed to have to make her feel better; she immediately scratched that idea, feeling disgusted for allowing such a primal desire to take a hold on her, just as she dreaded returning to Beacon, and starting a faked relationship with the mongrel that was part of her team.

Xiao Long household, by sunset…

Ruby and Kanetsugu stood by the door of the house, one sighed in resignation, the other gave a hug in support, knowing that the master of the house would no doubt yell and curse for this unauthorized date; they had no regrets though, for they had enjoyed both the moment of intimacy, and Penny's company. When they opened the door though, they were faced with quite a surprise.

"Oh, there you are. You should have said you had plans for today, athough with how much I yelled yesterday I understand your lack of communication." Taiyang greeted them with a mellowed voice, one that spoke of regret and acceptance, one that they were not expecting so soon.

"What is going on?" Ruby asked, dreading to find the answer, obviously not expecting a good thing out of this change.

"I just had a lot of time to think about… things. And came to the conclusion that I should give your boyfriend a chance, after all, his religion may actually show some degree of success, or he could become a renowned hunter." Taiyang finished and then moved away, probably to his room; Ruby and Kanetsugu turned to stare at Yang and Ranmaru, who made an inhuman effort to not make eye contact.

"We just… talked some sense into him; nothing to worry about, really!" Yang's voice gave away exactly the opposite, making the cheerful pair worry for their future.

In his room, Taiyang started to send texts to Qrow, mentioning how and incredibly rich boy had set his eyes on Ruby, and how things may begin to look better for the future of the family; at that moment Qrow was hitting a bar, meaning that there was no way he wouldn't spill such information, especially with no one telling him that he shouldn't do so.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Next chapter will cover Nobunaga and Blake, dealing with their own stuff and romance.


	32. Light and Darkness

**Magnus:** Sorry for the delay, but I had a lot of trouble finding time to write lately, and forgive me for delivering what may be a little bit of a filler chapter, but is necessary to connect the dots and make the next seasson flow with logic.

 **Disclaimer:** I hate that with the pokebank update, most people are asking for legendaries when giving normal pokemon; a combee is not worth a Tapu Koko.

* * *

 **Chapter 32**

 **Light and Darkness**

It had been two days since Kanetsugu left the school, meaning two days for Cinder to go through different stages of panic, stress, and finally cooling down to properly make an alternate plan; she was still raging about all of it though, as the virus get her the information of the flight path of the bullhead, she noticed how terrible were the archives and naming conventions, for Kanetsugu had been booked as patient K plus company of three… then the bullhead arrived to a intermediate outpost, where one bullhead went to patch island, no doubt carrying the lesbians, and 5 more departed for atlas, with all of them carrying a patient K…

 **We won't operate on bullshit.**

Adam's message was perfectly understandable, meaning that the priest was out of reach for the times begin; it would be admittedly easier to accept if her lackey wasn't showing her delight at seeing her nemesis escape harm…

"Well, then it's my responsibility to seduce him now; this time I'm going to use much dirtier tactics." Emerald said as she got the news of the failed plans, making Cinder's eye twitch.

"Want to practice with me? You don't want to look clumsy, do you?" Mercury immediately offered, getting a punch from the thief.

"Actually, I do; that certainly has much more charm." Emerald said, not feeling sorry for punching the murderer.

"Just don't forget the mission." Cinder warned her, making it obvious that this wasn't for pleasure.

Meanwhile…

"This… is heaven." Weiss said as she kept nuzzling on Mitsuhide's chest. The night that Kanetsugu and the others left, the remaining couples had come to an instant arrangement; Weiss and Mitsuhide were quick to claim team RWBY's room as their own, which led to having Weiss look like a complete mess, with disheveled clothes, unkempt hair and rosy cheeks product of finally forgetting proper behavior.

"Heaven... is seeing you smile with freedom." Mitsuhide replied, sounding satisfied with the current situation, enjoying his time with the ice princess, and finding great delight in knowing Nobunaga's situation.

In the room next door, Blake and Nobunaga had found that isolation could be quite pleasurable, as knowing that Ranmaru was nowhere to be seen meant a lot of freedom on their end…

"Hmmm… that's right… surrender to me… and let me do my magic on you." Blake said with a rather seductive voice, placing her hands all over the visionary, whose only way to make any kind of opposition was to moan.

"Oh yes… you are solely mine, so better get used to it." Blake continued in a hushed voice as she kept working on the body of the visionary, not bothering to hide her wicked grin. When they reached the room two days ago, Nobunaga simply plummeted to the floor, and had not shown any signs of being able to move since then; Blake immediately took care of him, nursing him, and hand feeding him… then she found that massaging him was extraordinarily pleasant, experiencing intense feelings whenever she made him moan and squirm.

"HMFHG!" Nobunaga's muffled grunt was the only signal he gave of the result of his girlfriend's ministrations… that, and a loud 'pop' coming from his muscles; he was having an incredible difficult time deciding if he was feeling pleasure or pain, but at least it was for the well being of his body, or so he kept repeating on his mind.

In his office, Ozpin watched with insane amusement how Nobunaga was rendered a defenseless kitten by the broody faunus; he was smiling, fighting the urge to chuckle, and overall enjoying the suffering of his nemesis. Ozpin knew better than to wish for his nemesis' demise or even trying to do something against his health, but the delight he had for his pain was undeniable.

"What are you doing, Ozpin?" Glynda asked as she finally allowed her presence to be known in the office, finding amusing how the headmaster looked like a teen caught watching porn.

"It is not what it looks like." Ozpin said with a straight face, trying to sound as if calm and not surprised, not that it helped him.

"So… you are not monitoring the health of one of our best students, while checking that miss Belladonna is not wrong with her muscle massaging skills?" Glynda asked with a raised eyebrow, internally smiling at the wide eyes of the old headmaster.

"Oh! Then it is almost what it seems. I was a little worried that the wild rumors of their relationship would not be enough to mask the true health of mister Oda, but if miss Belladonna continues with her diligent work, then he'll be able to mingle with the rest of the students by tomorrow." Ozpin said now, hoping to misdirect the combat instructor's attention.

"Well, her technique is good, but I'm worried about how much she seems to enjoy her work." Glynda said as she watched the cat girl continue with her massage; she knew that the young cat girl finally found what beat being given a massage, and that is being the one massaging the loved one.

In the room, Nobunaga was still thinking, plotting the best path to take, and the safest steps to follow; the agents of the Abyss surely showed how insecure they were, choosing to remain closer to the point of breach of the busted plan, at the cost of now being shackled by the rather rancorous professor Peach, who needed not even the slightest nudge to harass them like a vulture; this, coupled with the already delivered punishment of having them spending a week of dish washing duty, ensured that they will be pretty much unable to follow any outrageous move. He was very grateful for this respite too, for he could tell that his body was going to require a large amount of time to properly heal.

Two days later…

Cinder and her lackeys were finally able to say good bye to the duty of picking trash, all of them wishing for the day of the fall of the kingdom, and have the streets flooded with trash and dirt… Emerald and Mercury still had dish washing duty though.

"These two idiots better not do anything fool in there…" Cinder muttered as she sat in the cafeteria, and carefully tested the sauce before placing it on her food; it was then that she saw the dark knight and his girlfriend, Adam's ex.

"Oh Nobu! Thank you for acceding to this!" Blake almost shouted in delight, for her boyfriend had accepted to go to the next faunus rally in downtown Vale.

"My love, it's not only that I'll do anything for you, but I'm well aware of the unfairness of their situation; the faunus are no more animal than the humans!" Nobunaga loudly stated, gaining the attention of the present students; Cinder instantly noticed the shift in the mood, for some students began to talk favorably, while others showed their despise and racism.

Cinder watched with interest the guy with the eccentric hair style, noticing how he was playing the faunus girl in hiding, speaking the words she wanted and needed, and most likely enjoying the benefits of being her world; for her, the guy most likely had a fetish for the faunus, and obviously had found about the catgirl true nature, meaning that she was still using her bow to prevent trouble for the guy… She quickly began to see a new way to improve Adam's cooperation, and possibly have a way to reach the priest.

"Man, why do the tribals get all the sweet ladies?!" Russel said in despair after seeing Nobunaga and Blake share a sloppy kiss before sitting at their table to eat.

"Not only is a tribal, but a faunophile too… seriously, why is she with that guy?" Cardin joined too, making an opening for Cinder's plan; her idea was simple, expose the faunus girl, the outcome in her relationship was meaningless, for the cops will do the dirty work for her.

"Sounds like an interesting couple… do you think he asks her to dress like a faunus too?" Cinder said absentmindly to the boys, making their eyes go wide at the picture.

"I… think I'm going to ask." Cardin said with a rather sinister smile on his face; he had been wanting to score with one of the hottest girls of the school for too long, and while Blake was not that high in the list, she would make quite the prize for the bully, now he only needed to make her and the tribal fight, and he will take his chances after the fall.

"Hey! Tribal!" Cardin called to the visionary, well aware that he needed to be careful on his approach, or suffer way too severe consequences.

"Are you speaking to me?" Nobunaga asked back in a tone that denoted amusement, and an impossible level of superiority.

"Yes, I want to ask you a question." Cardin said in a slightly less hostile tone, making the catgirl raise an eyebrow.

"That is… new?" Blake said in a surprised way, although her eyes denoted that she had been expecting a moment like this for some time now.

"Well, in midst of nothing else to do at this instant, I see no problem in answering your question." Nobunaga said now, trying his best to not sound mocking, and obviously failing to do so.

"I don't know, Nobu; he may not understand the answer." Blake did her best to make it obvious that she was making fun of the bully, making him eye twitch.

"It actually involves you too, Blake." Cardin added, making the face of the visionary scrounch up at his words, signaling that he was now paying attention.

"I've been hearing you two talk about the faunus quite… positively; in fact, too positively, one could say you love them, very much." Cardin started to set up his bait, thing possible due to all the practice he had on bigotry.

"Faunus, just like humans, deserves to feel loved and accepted; having animal traits shouldn't be an excuse to show hate, much less when the ones showing it seems to portray animalistic behavior." Nobunaga's retort earned chuckles, gasps and a few glares, showing that now everyone was paying attention.

"Animal… behavior?" Cardin asked in confusion, earning even more chuckles, obviously from the faunus present.

"You are acting territorial, like a dog that thinks that others may steal what he believes belongs to him." Blake elaborated, making the bully eye twitch.

"Anyway; your interest seems to be beyond sympathy, and that is not natural." Cardin tried again, to see if the visionary would slip, or say something that could be misconstructed.

"Really now? Unnatural is the bigotry that they suffer, as we humans should see them as brothers and sisters, and not competition for resources." Nobunaga refuted, making people to begin to discuss his point of view.

"Brothers and sisters? You strike me as the kind that wouldn't mind to get intimate with one, just like those faunophile cultists." Cardin began his attack, trying to sound less hostile than he really intended, making more than one to choke on spit.

"I see no reason to judge the personal preference of the people, human or otherwise, and I will ask that you stop using such derogative word; falling in love with a faunus shouldn't be linked to something that make it seems like a deviant proclivity!" Nobunaga's declaration had everyone with their jaws drop to the floor, for he seemingly accepted such possibility on his sexual preference, something that had the bully grinning.

"Nobu… actually… faunophile is an accepted word that is in the dictionary; it is true that bigots use it like a derogative term, but it is not." Blake had the decency to explain to the visionary, who seemed equal parts confused and embarrassed.

"Really?! But I thought! I mean… I really need to read the dictionary." Nobunaga said in a rather comedic moment of vulnerability, for he had not felt so much like an ignorant since his days of youth.

"I don't get it, if you 'love' them so much, why did you get hooked to Blake? Or maybe you just want to make faunus believe you like them? Maybe you have a secret affair with one of those deformed creatures!" Cardin shouted, trying to force the visionary to spill something incriminatory.

"Nobu has never been unfaithful to me; what are you trying to prove, bully?" Blake finally went into the offensive, much to Cinder's pleasure.

"Really? How? Do you wear animal ears when you are in the bed with him?" Cardin shot now, for he knew that once one spilled out the beans, their relationship will take a bad turn.

Blake and Nobunaga seemed annoyed by this, and before the visionary could do anything, the catgirl finally took of her bow, in front of everyone; there were gasps, students spitting out their drinks, and a couple of blasphemies that sounded not too far away… Cardin seemed to be frozen in shock.

"Oh my love! You finally decided to accept your beautiful true self!" Nobunaga shouted in pleasure as he hugged her from behind, softly, and with a physical declaration of love and desire.

"Yes, my love; sorry for taking so long." Blake replied, her cat ears happily twitching at the much needed freedom.

"Then let me say it here and now, with everyone present as witnesses. I love you; please, marry me, and be the mother of my children!" Nobunaga went for the over the top drama for this declaration, more for his true feelings than for the need to advance his plans.

"YES! Yes I'll be your wife! I love you, Nobu!" Blake replied with a natural outburst of emotions, and then both engaged in an extremely sloppy deep kiss.

Cardin looked at them for a couple of seconds, and then turned to try to run away, just to start vomiting before reaching the door of the cafeteria; Cinder watched in delight how many students found the scene revolting, fully believing that the dark knight would be in the receiving end of all the racism of the visiting students, she also took pictures and video, so she could have Adam running faster to obey her commands.

"Neptune, we need to…" Sun whispered to his friend as he slowly tried to stand up from his seat, just to find the blue haired guy holding his arm quite forcefully.

"With a rusted knife…" Neptune whispered back, with a rather large amount of animosity.

"No! Not them! Look at that woman." Sun quickly corrected his friend, who upon looking at the beautiful young woman, decided that his team leader was not wrong on his assumptions.

"Oh! Ok… I admit she looks suspicious; do you think?" Neptune said as he began to agree with his partner.

"Yeah! Junior detectives are in the case!" Sun said as he thought on earning redeeming points with the catgirl; Neptune held Sun's arm again though.

"We are doing this by the book, so start filling the formulary." Neptune said as he produced a small formulary for Sun to fill, knowing that to bust into dormitories they needed sanctioned papers.

At the gardens…

Weiss and Mitsuhide were having their usual tea party, trying their best to look neutral, but failing to hide their smiles and comfort; most people would simply assume that the heiress had just done something favorable for her, and that the samurai had done something behind her back, but to Ozpin, they looked like a nice couple that finally was getting some deserved quality time.

"Young ones, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something, but I have to request you to come to my office; not right now, mind you, but at your earliest convenience. I assure you that this is in no way a prelude to some sort of reprimand, is just that I require your input about certain topic you two are well acquainted to." Ozpin said to the couple, making them grimace.

"Would you mind if that means attending by sunset?" Weiss asked as politely as she could, trying to test the waters; Ozpin's smile seemed to bring some sense of safety, although just slightly.

"If that is your earliest convenience, then that is perfectly fine; I'll be waiting for you two." Ozpin replied, and then turned to leave, as if trying to take as little of their time as possible.

"Mitsuhide?" Weiss turned to her boyfriend with worry on her eyes.

"I know, this seems to be something worrisome; but let's worry about that when the time comes, until then, let's enjoy our time together a little more." Mitsuhide replied, knowing that worrying about Ozpin right now will bring nothing good.

Later that afternoon, at the headmaster's office…

"Thank you for coming; now, I'm sure you may have some misconceptions about this meeting, so let me clarify. Both of your teams have performed way beyond expectations, and the council is getting restless because of this." Ozpin began his explanation as the couple entered, all while offering them seats and hot cocoa.

"Why would the council become restless for our success?" Weiss asked, worried at the implications, especially with the idea of her father using this new information against her.

"Is it because the blood spilled? Or because it was due to tactics they've never used before?" Mitsuhide asked, having an idea of where this was going.

"As a matter of a fact, for both. Our council men have seemed to forget that the nomad tribes are used to kill people just as they can kill the creatures of grimm; thus they felt that both teams have to undergo an examination. Miss Goodwitch would usually make this examination, but due to her closeness to all of you, I was tasked with the burden." Ozpin explained now, making Weiss and Mitsuhide to look at each other in shock.

"Examination?!" Both youngsters asked at the same time, obviously alarmed; one thought that this could be used by the Abyss, and the other by a certain greedy corporate.

"Don't worry, most of it is already done, with all the sensitive information masked or simply misconstructed for ease of read; however, there are a couple of questions that must be answered by what could be called the second in command of each team, in this case, you two." Ozpin explained now, softening his features to try to keep the students relaxed; he didn't fail to notice that Mitsuhide had his body tensed, as if ready for anything.

"What kind of questions?" Weiss was the one to ask, for she had become quite adamant on protecting their quest to their happy ending, even if that means making an enemy of her father.

"Basically questions about your leaders, nothing too outrageous, I assure you." Ozpin answered with honesty, obviously not saying that he was going to get much more information for himself.

"I see." Mitsuhide's short answer made it clear that he doubted the purity of this test.

"Let's begin, shall we? First, how well you know your leaders, and how much you trust their judgment, both in battle and out of it." Ozpin began, taking a pen and paper, instead of using an electronic device.

"Ruby? Well, I can't say that I know her enough to call her sister, but well enough to know when she is happy or upset; as for her judgment, in battle I have no reason to not listen to her, but out of it, I think she is too childish for her own good… nothing that a couple of years won't correct." Weiss answered, trying to be honest, while trying not to laugh at the outrageous things that Ruby had done in the past, including some childish games she had forced both teams to partake in.

"Nobunaga is a man that would never stop until he has accomplished his goals, not even slowing down in the face of total opposition, I know this because I have been with him for quite some time now; as for his judgment… doubting or even question it is futile, for most of the time he will be proven right at the end of things, even when everyone may think otherwise." Mitsuhide answered while hiding his personal thoughts and feelings, but the headmaster seemed to be able to read through his chiseled face.

"Really? With all the animosity between you two I thought you were rivals; I do even remember you challenging him for leadership of your team. I'm not pressing you, but I would like to know if there was something more to it than a mere desire for leadership." Ozpin said now, surprising the heiress with that little detail that seemed way too distant now.

"Nobunaga and I have had differences in the past, and not always see eye to eye; our goal is the same though, so I'm not going to become an obstacle to our duty." Mitsuhide elaborated, not failing to notice a small smirk forming on Ozpin's face.

"I see; thanks for sharing that. Now, if you were to take command of your teams, either temporary or permanently, would you change anything on their dynamics?" Ozpin's question threw them off balance, for they didn't expect such scenario.

"Well… maybe ensuring that all the members act a little more mature?" Weiss ventured to answer, noticing Ozpin's eyebrows rising.

"Now that is interesting, could you elaborate please?" Ozpin then began to go as deep as it was possible without having the youngsters feel uneasy, knowing that his theory about Mitsuhide was not wrong, and he ached to take down his nemesis… Ozpin didn't realize that Mitsuhide wanted to truly murder the visionary though.

Meanwhile, at Cinder's room…

"Cinder, let us in!" Sun shouted as he kept pushing the door, finding incredible resistance from the young woman on the other side.

"Are you sure this was scheduled for today?" Cinder asked as nicely as possible while keeping the door from being open; behind her, Emerald and Mercury were rushing to hide all the incriminatory stuff that they could find, from a chalkboard with some of their plans written on it, to several clips of illegal ammunition, stuffing it all inside the closet.

"We don't notify students when we are about to bust in their dormitories!" Sun replied as he and Neptune joined forces to push the door open, but couldn't surpass Cinder's tenacity.

"But we are exchange students!" Cinder tried to defend her cause, just to fail miserably.

"It doesn't matter." Neptune said with a playful tone, as if now he expected to find something nasty on the other side.

"Man, isn't this wheatear crazy today?" Cinder showed her desperation when she used a highly lame topic.

"Cinder, stop blocking the door!" Neptune was the one to ask now, even when he hated to be harsh on the ladies.

"Your abs looks extraordinarily sexy today." Cinder finally made use of her final card, going for the full seductive voice; Sun stopped the struggling to give one of his posses, but with Neptune elbowing him, the victory was extraordinarily short lived.

"If you keep blocking that door, you'll join your teammates in dishwashing duty, for an entire month." Professor Peach said as she finally made her presence known; Ozpin had stated that busting into a dormitory required the presence of a teacher, and when he was told that it was going to be Cinder's room, he directly asked the rancorous faunus teacher, who would surely go out of her way to find anything against this specific group of students.

"Of course, professor." Cinder finally relented, although she made sure that her lackeys had hid the most incriminating stuff; after stepping aside, the two guys quickly entered and began to check the entire room, with Neptune going for the most obvious spots, and Sun determined to check every inch of the room, in hopes of looking good before Blake.

"Ok, let's see here." Neptune said as he opened the closet, failing to notice that Emerald was looking intently at him.

"Ugh! You need to do the laundry more often." Neptune said as he closed the door, obviously being tricked by the mirage thief.

"That can be fixed, maybe changing dishwashing duty for laundry duty." Professor Peach said from the door frame, finding joy at seeing Cinder and Emerald shiver at the idea.

"Better not; I don't think they can be clean enough." Sun said as he showed a couple of magazines… portraying naked women…

"THAT'S NOT MINE!" Mercury shouted as the outsiders and the professor looked at him.

"It's actually mine; and last I checked that is neither illegal nor frowned upon." Cinder said, surprising everyone.

"Never said it was… is just… distasteful." Professor Peach said as she signaled for the monkey boy to return the reading material to where he found it.

"And this?" Neptune asked as he raised a small photo album… with pictures of students… naked and in the showers.

"Wasn't the pictures of porn stars enough?" Peach asked in a very unfriendly tone; one thing was to look at models that were well aware of what they were doing, and another to take pictures of unsuspecting and unwilling people.

"Emerald?" Cinder asked to the other girl of her team, who only gave a small and nervous laugh.

"And you dare to call me pervert?" Mercury asked in a mocking tone, not wanting to miss this opportunity.

"I'm not the one with the twitchy hands." Emerald said without thinking, only to cringe in horror when she noticed that the teacher had heard her, with terrifying clarity.

"Twitchy hands?" Professor Peach asked in a voice that sounded like the prelude to unending pain, for she took offence of her students being molested, especially the likes of Ruby, who were too innocent for their own good.

"I think I've hit the jackpot!" Sun said as he lifted a small bag from bellow one of the beds, gaining everyone's attention, and temporarily saving the murderer from a close encounter with an angry teacher.

"What is it?" Neptune quickly asked, trying to look as if in the presence of a dangerous and illegal substance.

"Rash powder, hardcore stuff." Sun reported, trying to sound like a true detective.

"Rash powder?" Peach asked in honest confusion; she knew that the thing could be used on pranks, but it was rather lame in comparison with most of the things on school, and even compared with the other stuff found in the room.

"Hey! That is not illegal, or forbidden; it is not even for a prank!" Mercury defended, obviously not wanting to add more time to his already lengthy punishment.

"If it isn't for a prank, then what for?" Neptune asked, not knowing any other use for the powder.

"I was going to use it as a surprise attack on my next fight with the monk; one throw at the eyes in the middle of the fight, and he'll be swatted like a…" Mercury couldn't finish his explanation; it wasn't an illegal tactic, just merely frowned upon, but it earned the fury of the teacher.

"You two are coming with me." Professor Peach said in an icy cold tone, taking both Mercury and Emerald by the ears, and motioning for the detective duo to bring along all the evidence.

Once alone, Cinder plummeted to the floor, grateful for the moment of solitude; she had become too used to the comfortable strength of the maiden, so now she felt way too weak, even if she wasn't. She had to smile though, for at least her back up plan was working nicely; Adam was recruiting even more members, the virus was providing more access points every day, and with the priest in such a weakened state, she will orchestrate the fall of Beacon as intended, and of course, her ascension to Fall Maiden.

"No one is going to deny me the power I deserve." Cinder muttered to herself, and then went to her bed to try to relax, knowing that the professor will take extra time to give her lackeys an extremely harsh earful of a reprimand.

Undisclosed location, outside Vale's borders…

Adam had been spending way too much time pondering on the moment he will be finally reunited with his lost love, the girl that had stolen his heart, just to crush it on the dirt; he had been meditating in the approach to take, on how to humiliate her, about slowly murdering the filthy human that had dared to touch her, and then clean her thoroughly with his manliness, imagining all the sweet tears on her face… As a leader though, he had failed to notice some small details, things that should he had been paying attention, may have raised a few questions…

"Boss, fifty more members have been recruited; their loyalty is absolute, and will not hesitate to act upon your orders." Jerry, one of the survivors of Mountain Glenn reported; according to other members, he had returned changed, growing up from a meek attitude, to an unflinching soldier, one capable of talking down any feline faunus like it was nothing.

"Good, divide them with your comrades; you'll make the main force when we move against beacon." Adam replied without turning to look at him; had he looked at him and the other survivors more closely, he may have noticed the small pin in their clothes, a pin resembling some type of flower… a pin that was becoming a common sight among the troops that the mouse faunus and his friends were recruiting and training…

"At once." Jerry replied like a soldier, giving the appearance of being ready to go to war to defend what he believed in to the death…

"Your leader will want to bring the full strength of the White Fang against us in the future; when that time comes, you'll have to ask yourself if you and your friends are enough to protect what you want to protect. If the answer is not, then you'll better think on how to make his forces dim, while you increase your strength. Remember, my good friend, a bull is not faced off directly, instead it's slowly bleed to death." Nobunaga's… no… Lord Oda's words had been rather mysterious at first, but when Adam spoke of the next step on the plan, Jerry was sure of something; the best way to ensure the safety of his family, is to make Adam see his army grow up in numbers, while in truth it was becoming smaller.

"How is the listing going?" Jerry asked to one of his friends, one that had been by his side during the massacre of Mountain Glenn.

"It is almost ready; all the loyal troops will be riding with us during the attack on Beacon, while those of questionable loyalty will remain behind to protect the base. Our task force will be more than half of the total numbers during the attack… I'll certainly feel better if ALL of the forces were under our command." The faunus reported, earning a smirk from Jerry, who caressed the flower pin on his friend's clothes.

"I'm working on it; in the mean time, keep the training up, we can't afford to be unprepared." Jerry said in a very dark tone, watching the training faunus under his command; all of them displaying the same pin, the mark of the new Oda army.

* * *

 **Magnus:** I may start volume 3 in the next chapter. Anyone else think that the art style of Volume 4 makes Ruby look way much older than expected?


	33. Insight

**Magnus:** Sorry for the extended delay, but I been having health problems lately, so I couldn't focus on the story. I'll try to pick up the pace.

 **Disclaimer:** I completely forgot what I was going to add here...

* * *

 **Chapter 33**

 **Insight**

In a cruiser in its way to Vale, one girl with twin ponytails was engaged in self contemplation, making use of every second in this voyage to think in all the turns and twists that her life has taken since she began this particular job.

' _I really need to get my hands in that new purse I saw in the catalogue…'_ Of course her thoughts had always been focused on trivial things, but that was her way to deal with her life.

' _Better not screw this one, can't afford to not get paid…'_ Her thoughts had made her reach for the deliciously crafted Edo coin on her pocket; Neo Politan was currently masquerading as the last member of team CMNE (Carmine), Cinder's fake team.

' _Smuggle yourself to Mistral, he said, then book yourself a tourist flight to Vale, he said, you'll be paid later, he said…'_ Neo continued her rambling as she caressed the kanji in the coin, finding it comforting due to its value; Adam had been quite unwelcoming when she arrived with the survivors, then he had been very hostile while sending her away, not bothering to allow her to get a shower, a meal and a well deserved pay.

' _SOOOO unlike Master Oda!'_ Neo found herself stopping her mussing after the last thought, blinking at how easily she had gotten into the same fever that Jerry and the other fell; she couldn't blame the faunus for it though, as Nobunaga was quite charismatic, charming and eloquent, his methods also gave results.

' _Master?'_ Neo's self question had her bringing up the coin to her face, a coin that suddenly held more value than its market price; Nobunaga had given her a hint on their last meeting, about the possible choices she would face once the job was done…

 _=Flashback=_

" _It is to my understanding that you want out, to forget about all this trouble, and return to your old life style, this I cannot argue against, and will not force you to change your mind about it, because this conflict is only going to grow worse." Nobunaga's sincere words were something not only new to the cat burglar, but incredible reassuring, charming even, making her wish to work for him again, under less life threatening circumstances._

" _However, I have to beg you to reconsider it; our enemies no doubt will look for you after seeing that your body is not among the fallen ones, either to keep you working for them, or to make you follow suit with those around us." His words had been… true; it would have been naïve and impossible stupid to believe she would get away with her freedom, at best she would have to hide forever._

" _We need your help, your expertise, to ensure the safety of everything we love and hold dear; I know that asking anything of you is selfish, so I'm willing to reward you accordingly not only to the level of dangerousness, but to the level of happiness we'll achieve through your help; if you accept, all and any expense you face during your mission will be paid with my money, a chest full of any kind of valuable will await you when the ordeal is over, you'll be given a title befitting your heroic deeds, and should it please you, a permanent place among the guardians of this world." Neo didn't need time to make the choice, there was none to begin with; with Cinder no doubt about to call her to know if she survived or not, Adam looking for blood and someone to blame, and riches beyond her wildest dreams in the line, the choice was obvious…_

 _=End Flashback=_

"Miss, do you require anything else?" A lady asked to the mute girl while serving her an expensive looking steak and a glass of wine; Neo politely shook her head, and thanked the woman with signal language. The cat burglar had been a little bit skeptical about how much her new 'Lord' was willing to pay for her as mission expenses, and was incredibly pleased to find that a first class executive flight was not only among the allowed expanses, but he expressly stated that she deserved no less for her services… she really was looking forward to keep working with such employer.

On a different, and much more humble flight…

Pyrrha Nikos was still shocked, the events on that village had been life changing for her, and helped her to finally take notice on the world and how it worked; as affable as she was, and as loved as she had become, she had never experienced what it means to earn sympathy and love, what it means to be a complete stranger in a strange land, and of course, being branded as the one leeching on someone else's station…

"Master… Ark?" Pyrrha asked again, in what had become a now dull habit; Jaune limited himself to let out an exasperated sigh, knowing that no amount of explanations will ever cover up the can of worms that the lovely villagers opened with no harmful intention.

It all started when they arrived to the village, where they were received by a suspiciously warm welcoming party; as expected, the sheriff had been quite friendly to Nora and Ren, so far as to hug them and yell about how well they were growing, then she and Jaune were presented to the assembled people. Pyrrha had found her anonym presence pleasant, basking in the untainted attentions of strangers and the delightful lack of worship… then everyone addressed her boyfriend.

 _=Flashback=_

" _Master Ark! You honor us with your presence!" The sheriff was the first to speak his praise._

" _Master Ark!" More and more people began to chant his name as if he was some kind of religious figure, akin to what Kanetsugu was earning._

" _He is so handsome!" Hearing the amassed young girls had Pyrrha tensing like a lioness._

" _Oh my! He looks rip for the taking." Pyrrha didn't want to look at the voluptuous woman who spoke, opting for turning to look Jaune in the eye._

" _Jaune, is there something you wish to explain?" Pyrrha asked in a voice that sounded with forced friendliness obviously annoyed at the unprecedented change of roles._

" _Haha… well… hmmm… my family kind of owns the village… it's not what you think, is like an ancient deed that nobody has bothered in changing and that holds no real weight, you know, like saying that I own a car but is not my car; it's just in paper, and the title is given only for the family, so, not my claim!" Jaune threw his poorly made explanation, with all the nervousness of someone caught red handed; the rest of the towns people laughed at the words of the young warrior, but nole like people in the school that would make fun of him, but like subjects finding his humor to their liking._

" _Really? Then why they have a statue of you in the plaza?" Nora was quick to point out; making Pyrrha's jaw drop, even she didn't have one of those!_

" _WHAT?! Nora! That is Noire Ark! The very first Ark heroine; her role in slaying the mythical leviathan earned her so much treasure that the Queen at the time decided to grant her the lands we are standing in, along with any structures and population. She set the example to all of my family by giving it all to the people, under the one condition that they will always care for the land, and that they will always welcome the Ark family like close friends!" Jaune explained while showing his respect and pride for being in the same family as that person._

" _Welcome like friends." Pyrrha pointed out with skepticism, obviously seeing that the townspeople seemed to worship him like he was this Noire Ark… being a mirror image of the statue may had something to do with that, but then again, Pyrrha had the suspicion that had him look like the exact opposite, the welcoming would not have been any less friendly._

" _Oh! Master Ark always acting so humble, it is truly inspirational!" The mayor cheerily stated while entering the scene; the woman, while aged, seemed to truly recognize Jaune, and carefully eyed the companions of the guest of honor._

" _It is nice to see that the orphans had grown so well, although no one was fooled back then when little Ren denied all romantic notions about the motor mouth." The mayor's comment had everyone laughing, and Ren and Nora blushing; Pyrrha now knew who was getting married, and had a suspicion as for the reason of being this particular village._

" _I must admit that I was surprised to find the Master had gone to Beacon to become a huntsman, and I certainly hope that the change of pace has not been too harsh; we all believed that it would be you the one to finally come and become the Duke of our humble village!" The mayor kept on rambling, making Pyrrha's eyes go wide; the village was not a humble looking one, especially with the obviously abundant crops, the numerous and fat animals, and the healthy looking people, apparently they had taken the 'care for the land' words as a mandate, which had paid back multiple times over._

" _Yeah, well, I don't do desk job, sorry; besides, I wouldn't have found myself such a wonderful girlfriend if I had taken up that offer!" Jaune said with his loveable idiotic smile while hugging Pyrrha, making her heart make a flip, and blush madly and happily at the comment… her smile died faster than a cookie on Ruby's hand though, as she could feel the gargantuan hostility radiated by every young female in town._

 _=Flashback End=_

"Pyrrha, stop it; they will ask any and every Ark member to govern them, be it me or my sisters, cousins, and probably descendants, so that doesn't make me special in any way, besides, it is not like we are going to return there any time soon… unless you want the title of Duchess." Jaune had started his explanation in a very annoyed tone, but then ended in hesitation, not knowing if his girlfriend would actually want that kind of life; being chained to the dreadful desk may be worth it if his beloved girlfriend was made happy.

"I… can't see you being 'served' night and day by all those 'girls', it is not something I'm willing to put you through." Pyrrha replied through clenched teeth, earning a snort from the happy looking Nora, and a shook of the head from the not stoic looking Ren.

"Yeah, you're right, besides the idea of spending that much time on the desk is really awful." Jaune's follow up had been quite misinterpreted, for obvious reasons… making even Ren laugh at Pyrrha's face of indignation.

At Beacon…

Ozpin had mixed feelings, conflicted emotions, and too much information to digest; in the weeks of vacation that he had given to both teams, he had managed to learn enough to give him pause. Mitsuhide had given too little information, but his body language had given enough answers; he and Nobunaga were, and still are, enemies. Their placement together as a team had been coincidental, and their well tuned teamwork an alliance of necessity; Ozpin had no doubt that the samurai truly desired to take off the head of his leader, but will not do so until their holy mission is completed, and Ranmaru removed from the scene, for safety reasons…

"But why?" Ozpin asked to himself as he watched from the window of his office; he had no doubt that the young Oda needed to be stopped after his mission was finished, but he could not comprehend the motivation of the young samurai. From his standpoint of view, the samurai should see his leader as appropriate, and obviously he would agree to his vision, for it was properly aimed; Ozpin's animosity was founded in the principle of clashing rivals, of two manipulative bastards waging a secret war from the shadows, trying to outdo the other in blatant ways that would be impossible to detect to the common viewer… all of it aimed, thankfully, for the greater good.

"What do you see that I don't?" Ozpin asked to himself, wondering if there was something else to be wary of, or if there was more to the visionary than what he was showing; he wondered if it was due to his ruthlessness, his lack of mercy to his enemies, his lack of remorse at every step, his tendency to devaluate anyone's life that is not supporting his plan, or perhaps his unholy ease at manipulating people… the last one had him frowning, for that meant that the samurai would be even harder to convince.

"At least everything is going well for Kanetsugu." Ozpin finally said, remembering the reports about the cheerful pair and their visit to Patch island; he had been worried when Taiyang's big mouth began to spread the one little fact about the priest that he had to agree to keep secret, his rather large fortune was something that could only bring trouble if spoken about lightly, and it seemed to do so for nearly a week, as the young girls and women of the community tried to swarm him, although much more calmly than a few of the local students; thankfully the situation began to fix itself when the battle monk was offered lands for purchase, thing that for some reason, he and Ruby began to consider with a large level of acceptance, no doubt seeing this as an investment to open their first true temple.

Meanwhile, at Patch island…

"This isn't working…" Leo reported with a heavy and exasperated voice, already hearing the disappointment in the General's voice for failing in such a simple mission.

"Well, it's not my fault!" Ciel shot back, equally exasperated; they had been working in their act to follow Ironwood's exercise, they had decided on pet names, had learned likes and dislikes, and even prepared scripts to follow on their fake dates.

"Actually, it is; Leo has been a gentleman and kind too. You, on the other hand…" Penny said as she watched them, much to the annoyance of the logistics expert.

"Have been a racist." Kage finished for Penny, making her gasp in fear.

"KAGE!" Penny tried to form a reprimand, but found herself unable to do so; during all the attempts to make the dates happen, Ciel had shown a clear disgust when Leo had tried to hold her hand, and absolute repulsion when he tried to hug her.

"It's the truth!" Kage defended his point, knowing that the girl will not advance without correcting her flaws.

"Perhaps we should show her how to act without prejudice? If Penny is alright with it, she and I can perform a fake date for Ciel to watch." Leo suddenly, and quite boldly, proposed; Kage's face contorted in horror at such proposal though, not only because he was now officially dating their quirky leader, but because the suggestion made sense and Penny no doubt could agree with the idea.

"Sounds like a nice idea, perhaps if she sees that you are not something to be feared, she will start seeing you as a person with feelings too." Penny replied, agreeing to the plan and making Kage let out steam from his ears… quite literally.

"IF you must." Kage suddenly said through clenching teeth, making Ciel snort at his antics; Penny pinched Kage's chin playfully, as if reassuring him that nothing would go wrong, and then moved to stand behind a now sitting Leo, in an instant she wrapped her arms around Leo's neck, placing her head next to his… if a picture was taken at that moment, they would look exactly as a loving couple.

"See, there is nothing monstrous about our teammate and friend; give him a chance, he is a truly warm guy." Penny's words were well meant, although by Leo's blushing, Ciel knew that the physical answer would not be the same.

"That is easy for you to say; he may act like a kitten in your hands, but what is stopping him from becoming a wild… whatever he is supposed to be?" Ciel shot back, making the rest of her team grimace at her wording, showing up just how much she hated the faunus.

"Why don't you hug him and find out?" Kage suddenly asked, making Leo go stiff, obviously dreading the action.

"Sounds like a good idea, you have been reticent to try it, and perhaps that is what you need to finally know how to act!" Penny was quick to accept the idea, truly wanting to finally put an end to this stupidity.

"WHAT?! I'd rather hug a rug!" Ciel shouted in obvious horror, not that Leo didn't share her sentiment.

"So, should I start the paperwork for your transfer? I can try to send you to a place where the cold air won't kill you in less than ten seconds." Penny supplied while separating from the large blond, much to the relief of the red headed troublemaker, and the horror of the dark skinned girl.

"NO! I mean… of course it is not necessary; I know how to follow orders, even if I don't like them." Ciel replied while getting closer to her faunus teammate, all while wondering how could Penny be that well prepared to assume real command, and what else could she have as ammunition.

"Ciel… just do it and be done with it; I hate this just as much as you do." Leo suddenly said, and then Ciel went to position herself behind him; it took her some effort, but finally managed to wrap her arms around the blond.

"Heads closer, for the picture." Kage said as he took his scroll, making both feel wrong about it.

"PICTURE?!" Ciel asked in surprise and horror, while Leo froze at the mere idea of that image going viral.

"The general wanted proof of your performance… and we don't feel like telling him that you failed; the picture will surely help to cover any report, for your sake." Penny explained with her kind voice and quirky gestures, making sense on the intention; Ciel complied after a minute or so, allowing her cheek to bruise Leo's one, once the picture was taken though, she darted away, while rubbing her cheek.

"You don't need to be so… dramatic about it; I didn't enjoy it either." Leo said with as much composure as he could, feeling really insulted by the exaggerated reaction.

"What the hell was that? Fur in your face?" Ciel suddenly asked with no little repugnance written on her features.

"It is called a BEARD! It's just starting to come out, but it will turn into a majestic full beard proper of a fully fledged general." Leo clarified with not only a dignified stance, but a proud voice too.

"Really? I thought you'll go for the mane. Don't get me wrong, I just thought…" Kage tried to suddenly correct his wording, although the first part didn't sound like mockery.

"That it'll fit me better? I don't think I could trade the family beard for such a trait." Leo replied with neutrality, most likely to show that he didn't take offence with Kage's comment.

"Wait; what was that about a mane?" Ciel asked now, making it obvious that she wanted to know, if only to prevent Penny for pushing her even further.

"Because he is a lion." Kage and Penny answered together, snorting at their synchrony.

"Lion?" Ciel suddenly sounded truly intimidated, making Leo become way too self aware; suddenly he smiled a little bit, and raised his right hand to where Ciel could clearly see, and made his nails become frightening looking sharp claws.

"Rawr." Leo calmly said, obviously mocking the dark skinned girl… then said girl's head moved in a way that let it clear she was looking at Leo's waist… he didn't take more than a single second to turn red at getting an idea of the girl's thoughts.

"I DON'T HAVE A BARBED…" He couldn't finish his sentence, because the other two engaged in roaring laughter…

At the same time…

On a small cliff, overlooking the valley, a young couple is prying before a lonesome, but well cared, tombstone; incense is slowly burning with a pleasant fragrance, and fresh flowers are resting against its surface. The white robed one is chanting a silent prayer, while the red caped one is silently reminiscing what little memories she has; both of them break their meditation at the same time, and then look at the small memorial with loving and sad eyes…

"Hey mom! I'm sorry for not coming more often, but I've been busy at Beacon academy… the good news is that I have a boyfriend! I know you'd love him…" Ruby began, trying to sound as if her mother was just there to hear her, easily imagining her standing there, smiling for her.

"Don't worry; I've been doing everything in my power to keep her safe and happy; although even I can't stop her from growing." Kanetsugu joined too, bowing to the tombstone, earning a small chuckle from the red caped girl.

"I wish you were here, that way dad would have been nicer from the beginning… and maybe he would have kept his mouth shut." Ruby continued, still blaming her father for going out of his way to alert everyone about Kanetsugu's money; at least Yang and Ranmaru had the decency of being clear on it being a secret.

"My love, that is now in the past, and while I cannot say I enjoy all this wrongly placed attention, at least we were given a nice plot of land to start our own temple." Kanetsugu said while linking his hand with his girlfriend, in a clear move to cheer her up.

"Did you hear that? I'm going to live in a temple! I know you didn't see that coming, eh? Still, I want to do some real missions before that, you know, to do something important before settling down." Ruby finished with a slightly shy voice, for it was her only fear, not being able to imitate her mother before becoming a housewife.

"Of course you will; I'll be there to ensure you see those missions through, and will make sure you never feel imprisoned as a wife." Kanetsugu added, making Ruby give a radiant smile.

"RUBES!" Yang's voice, as well as a cute bark, called the attention of the cheerful pair, signaling that it was time to leave the peaceful island, and return to their battlefield.

"Oh! Dad is here, he is going to take us to the Vytal Tournament; whish me luck!" Ruby said in her radiant cheerful voice, turning around to start moving toward her family and boyfriend's teammate.

"Of course she does, and she says she will watch over you as always." Kanetsugu's words made her stop dead on her tracks, as that had sounded way too close to what little memories she had.

"Wait, what? Is she really…" Ruby slowly asked while turning around with a little bit of apprehension; then she saw the face and caring eyes of her boyfriend, with a kind smile that answered all her questions.

"Of course, I forgot." Ruby replied to herself, clutching her chest at the wave of elation and pride at what her boyfriend was capable of… talking to spirits is part of ancient leyends, seeing it being true was fantastic, and a little bit frightening; hearing that her mother was watching over her let her feeling warm inside, as if she really didn't lose her.

"Don't worry, I'll be there for her, and will never let her fear danger alone." Kanetsugu quietly said to the tombstone, and then turned to follow his beloved little red.

'I know; don't let her lose anything else.' The spirit standing at the side of the tombstone said in hopes of being somehow heard, yet she smiled at seeing how the radiant one seemed ill intent on protecting the little child against pretty much everything. White petals began to blow in the direction of the family, carried by the wind from the valley below, but to Ruby and Kanetsugu, it was a very clear message…

Hours later, at Beacon's docks…

Bullheads were steadily arriving, dropping in students and visitors that were going to attend not only the Vytal festival, but the tournament too; among those waiting for specific people, four were well known for being highly popular couples.

"Today, the last part of our plan will start its march." Nobunaga proclaimed quietly, making sure that only those close to him would hear and understand.

"Our friends from outside are ready, they are still amazing at how accurate had been your predictions, Nobu." Blake reported as she leaned her head on the visionary's shoulder; life after revealing herself has been far easier than what she believe would be, although she attributed that to Nobunaga and his craftiness, rather than her luck and the populace's tolerance.

"Our friends from inside have prepared as you suggested, they are grateful for your kind warnings and good intentions." Weiss reported now, using an overly dramatic sarcastic slur; since Blake had been busy dealing with the defecting members of the White Fang, she volunteered to deal with the people of the poverty belt and Junior, to say that everyone had been shocked would have been an understatement.

In order to pave the path to victory, sacrifices had to be prepared, that much everyone knew; but since Nobunaga had been convinced by Blake about saving everyone possible, he took extra steps to ensure that wish, but he only promised to not sacrifice innocent blood though.

"I'm surprised that your father hasn't send lawyers and whatnot after us after your stunt; we could have used my money to prepare the people inside instead of yours. I'm… so proud of your courage…" Mitsuhide couldn't resist the urge to call to his girlfriend's willpower.

"Believe me, it was my pleasure to do so; I have to admit that I wouldn't be surprised if I suddenly get my allowance cancelled altogether." Weiss stated, not doubting the last part for a second, although she had to admit that she was much less afraid than what she told she would be.

Preparing the people of the poverty belt was a daunting task, more so with the fact that it was meant to be a secret; Junior was quick to agree to offer his club as shelter for the impending crisis, knowing that even if there was no real payment in money, at least he could use this action to win positive points before the police, and more importantly, the crown; gathering food and water to protect the defenseless had been actually an easy task, as they found that some factories began to donate resources under the false flag of a communal kitchen for the poor and homeless, a charity act supposed to be held by the time of the finals of the tournament, ensuring positive free advertisement for their businesses; the real challenge was to make sure that Junior, his men, and all the now united underground bosses were properly armed to assist the local police to protect the land when the attack comes, the answer was presented by Weiss, who borrowed from her account a rather enormous sum of lien, supposedly to get the SDC logo in all the tents and chairs, a smart way to gain positive light, but a sure way to make Weiss' father spit fire on his rage.

"Good, so now that we have a well prepared shelter and a well equipped army, we can safely proceed with our part in the stage." Nobunaga calmly stated, making it obvious that he really knew that victory was at hand; Mitsuhide kept frowning though, for he hated this level of success.

"Something is not right…" Mitsuhide stated, crossing his arms for more emphasis.

"What is it?" Weiss asked, knowing that she had to support her boyfriend, even if she couldn't see anything bad in the future, not with such a scary leader who seemed capable of turning the world upside down with a mere word… suddenly she began to understand her boyfriend a little more.

"Ah, yes, our benevolent headmaster, and the always helpful atlesian general…" Nobunaga's heavy sarcastic voice gave away immediately how much he loathed both figures, leaving little doubt about the idea of having countermeasures against his allies… it made Weiss wonder why though.

"Don't worry; as long as they don't know about our countermeasures, they will stay by their word in keeping their resources aimed to protect both the school and the people of the city." Blake answered in a rather dubious way, as if she and her boyfriend had had an even deeper connection than before, enough to have her know every little dark detail of the visionary's plan; Mitsuhide knew in that instant that lady Noh was laughing beyond the grave.

"Oh, they arrived at last!" Nobunaga suddenly called to attention, making the others turn to look at a bullhead, from which the rest of their teams came out.

"Why do I have to use a cane? Can't we all agree that it had been enough time to have me healed under the attentions of my beloved Ruby?" Kanetsugu asked with a hiss as he moved while using a cane, obviously in discomfort and way too sore for having to fake the limping.

"I agree with Kanetsugu; I think it is improper to have him act this way… I don't mind helping him to walk though." Ruby added, losing strength due to how much she enjoyed having to hug him all day long and serve him as a clutch.

"Come on, sis; first, you are enjoying it, and second… it is part of the plan, a plan that is aimed to see you two very happy, and very alive." Yang intervened, swaying the ideas of the cheerful pair in a way that was unlike she was even months ago; while enjoying a much needed session of lovemaking with her boyfriend, she found that he was ready to open his heart to her, that ended with her embracing a new set of ideals, which no doubt will kill that woman that donated her genes to give birth to her.

"Please, listen to us, and to Lord Nobunaga; we are not only in the same side, but you two are the key to finally achieve peace through the kingdoms. We NEED you two to have a very happy ending, and keep doing what you love to do, so bear with this for a little longer." Ranmaru pleaded, calling to their hearts and souls, making use of every tool he had learned from his lord; when he revealed Nobunaga's plan to Yang, she had smiled and laughed, first in disbelief, then in understanding, and finally hysterically, Raven had called her a berserker, something evil, now she will show her mother real evil, for instead of a lone wolf, she had become, and embraced, the ways of the loyal dog.

"Now, we can begin with the downfall of the abyss, and the writing of everyone's happy ending." Nobunaga said in a rather dark tone, leaving no room to make a mistake, the bad guys were going to beg for death release before meeting their end.

* * *

 **Magnus:** We are nearing the end, as a piece of warning, this story MAY not have a sequel, but can serve as template for other crossovers.


	34. The Struggle

**Magnus:** Ok, this is almost on schedule; this is the last arc, and it seems the easiest to write, enjoy! And remember: Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** I think I'm developing a liking to write about villanious characters, I may be wrong though.

* * *

 **Chapter 34**

 **The Struggle**

Ruby found herself with enough time to reminiscent about the last hours, from the novel experience that was seeing her boyfriend and teammates gawk at the floating stadium, to the reviewing of the last steps to take. The turn of the seasons was close, meaning that the time for the final confrontation was near; Ruby felt equal parts of anticipation and dread, because the enemy was terrible, but the happy ending was at hand, she only needed to stay true to the crafty plan that Blake's boyfriend had concocted… but that was being extraordinarily difficult.

" **Oh-ho! Miss Rose managed to avoid that strike with her well worked agility and grace; but will she be able to do so again?"** Professor Port spoke through the microphone, making an excellent job at exaggerating the events, helping her to hide her true strength.

' _Sigh… SO SLOW!'_ Ruby thought as she watched one of the members of team ABRN (auburn) move to strike her, he could be doing his best to shine in the tournament, but to the scythe wielder, he was moving in slow motion; it could have been an easy victory, but she had to make it look like a hard earned win, meaning carefully evading and striking to not look as if she was winking in and out of reality.

Blake watched her opponent, a girl with a hover board, trying to be as flashy as possible, making jumps, loops, and other acrobatic stunts, either aimed to please the crowd, or to impress and intimidate her; it was a waste of energy, and a waste of time. For a shinobi, efficiency is everything, moving fast when needed, moving slow when needed, applying the required strength, and never failing in the performance of any action; all the acrobatic nonsense she believed in the past was that, nonsense, just as the old ideas she once embraced.

" **OH! That must have hurt!"** Dr. Oobleck winced along the crowd when the girl fell on her ass, hard, against the uneven terrain, making Blake feel some pity for her, but not enough to not keep berating her on her mind.

' _Did I really perform that badly once?'_ Blake thought with some sadness, rationalizing that so much intense training had to have an effect, and yet remembering that she now had to fake failures to ensure the perfect execution of her beloved's plan.

Yang was having fun, laughing happily as she clashed fists with her opponent, who growled and snarled all the time, obviously putting a show for everyone; Yang had no doubt that her opponent was thinking that this was an even match, an event that was meant to test her prowess, and that will serve to nourish her strength, all of it an inconsequential thing, a child's play, barely worth a thought. Yang's opponent didn't know how badly outmatched she was, how easily could she have been killed already, how she lost the battle well before it had even started; it was a ruse, an incredibly crafty move to make the real opponent believe this was the reach of Yang's battle capabilities, and Yang was enjoying it beyond human comprehension, it was the knowledge of how deep in shit her master's enemies were, how they had walked into it willingly, and how deep they were still going, all while believing they had a chance… it was nearly orgasmic.

" **HOLLY MOLY! I don't want to know how it feels to be between those fists!"** Port shouted at seeing the ground become a crater when the fists of the two girls connected, none gave any ground, which made the surrounding area suffer.

' _Come, sweet little girl, let's play a little more, let's fool these idiots a little more, so when the time comes, I can paint my Lord's name with their blood!'_ Yang's thoughts were true to her nature, sadistic and violent, but tempered with obedience; she could feel her instincts screaming at her to let her true strength shine, to have fun while smashing the skull of her opponent… but her instincts were ignored with an easiness that would scare even the most hardened psychiatrist, their pull a laughable effort against a wall a high as the stars, and as wide as the oceans; like a ferocious watchdog, she had the power to end it all in a single motion, and like a watchdog, she will be perfectly obedient, attacking only on command, and only with the strength commanded.

Weiss watched the battlefield with pity, here a team of hunters in training was giving its best, fighting valiantly to prove their worth, to make the name of the academy they hailed from shine, and her teammates were playing them for fools, giving them the illusion that they had a chance at winning; she understood the reasoning, the reasons, and the goal, but her mind had beginning to understand her boyfriend, this was a fight without honor, a strike truly made from the darkest parts of the mind and heart, and just like her boyfriend, there will be no pride or honor to celebrate from this victory… even so, it was hard to feel any pity toward the enemies of the light.

"H-hey! Do-don't be a bitch… l-let me go." Weiss' opponent stuttered from behind her, his whole body encased in ice, leaving only the face out to ensure his survival, if only temporary.

"Later." Weiss coldly replied, making the poor boy grimace; it would be a lie to say that she had warmed up to everyone, instead she had warmed up to those she deemed appropriated, or worthy. Mitsuhide had approved of this, and she had found a comfortable balance between her high class education, and how she wanted to approach people, and that is what had her become someone truly fearsome, for she finally was able to interact with all levels of society, from the aristocrats, to the beggars, making the richest wary of her wrath, and the poorest enamored of her kindness.

Team NKRA watched the mockery of battle, feeling for their girlfriends and their struggle to remain in character, all while stealing glances at team CMNE, gauging their reactions, predicting their moves, and plotting ways to make them suffer in unspeakable ways; from her seat, Neo returned the stare with a coy smile, knowing that whatever terrible fate awaited Cinder and her cronies, she will avoid it, and take a seat along the heroes.

Ozpin watched the match too, not giving credit to his eyes; the battle was clearly one sided, to the point of being ridiculous, Ruby and her team were simply manhandling the opposing forces like they were farmers with makeshift weapons, and not hunters in training. His mind wandered a little bit, wondering if it would be possible to have every student on his school be this strong and skilled; then he shook his head, remembering that to get to this point, the innocence of the girls had to be murdered, thing that he was sure they weren't ready for, nor anyone else from the student body.

" **And with that, participant Reese is eliminated by both ring out and aura depletion!"** Port's voice returned everyone's attention to the battle, where the spectators were cheering due to the great display of skill and prowess, where Cinder smirked in self satisfaction at gauging her enemies.

In an moment of distraction, Ruby managed to send her opponent crashing into the frozen boy that had the bad luck of facing against Weiss, breaking his icy prison, but leaving both disoriented; Weiss didn't waste a single second though, and quickly encased both in a large ball of ice and snow, Ruby pushed them none too gently toward the edge of the arena.

"HELP!" The boys screamed in despair, forcing their last teammate, who had managed to disengage from a brutal brawl with the blond, to come to their rescue; she stood in their path, and with a well placed punch, she shattered the frost ball, freeing the boys, who now were fighting the dizziness to regain their footing.

"Yang! Now!" Weiss shouted after creating a half tunnel on the side, obviously aimed to provide a surface for impulse; Yang didn't waste time, and headed for it, grabbing the pistol form of Gambol Shroud, courtesy of a keen Blake, who had read the intent with startling easiness. Blake's pull, and Yang's momentum, aided by her gauntlets, gave her enough speed to come crashing into the rest of team ABRN like a meteor, sending them flying with auras depleted; the buzzing sound and the cheers marked the end of the battle, which earned a happy jump from the scythe wielder, although for reasons different than what the public thought.

Hours later, within the fairgrounds…

"Man, that was tiresome! And now I'm starving!" Ruby complained to the heavens, earning chuckles from her teammates and friends.

"I know the feeling, performing like that had me working quite the appetite too." Blake calmly added, although her stomach betrayed her with a rather loud growl.

"If only there were some place to find food at this time… oh wait." Weiss went for the sarcasm, making the entire team break into fits of laughter; they were actually waiting, serving as bait for the agents of the Abyss.

"Well, I just happen to know the right place to have our fill, come on!" Yang suddenly said, meaning that the signal had been given, and the prey had arrived; soon the girls began to follow Yang, just to be stopped within the first three steps.

Ruby almost snarled, feeling her of all people that close was enough to make her almost forget about the plan; she looked back when she felt the fingers of the thief touching her belt, feeling the button to open up her wallet pocket, seeing her conniving face, her deviant smile, it was extraordinarily hard not to reach for her unprotected neck, and give it a twist to make it all end… yet she had to endure, so their happy ending would not be ruined by a mere instant of self satisfaction.

"You shouldn't go anywhere without these!" Emerald cheerfully said, while holding Ruby's wallet on her hand, trying to portrait that she just picked it up from the ground; Ruby couldn't help but to glare at her with murderous intent.

"Oh, come on! Don't be like that; I just want to be friends with you. Also, I want to thank you for helping Kanetsugu on his recovery; I was very happy to find that he is just as vigorous as ever!" Emerald continued, throwing the last part of her speech after Ruby snatched her wallet from her hand.

"And how would you know that?" Yang played along, showing no signs of being affected by the thief.

"Well, I was ensuring he was comfortable while you were fighting; of course it was a fleeting thing, as my team had to fight too." Emerald's explanation had Ruby turning red in anger; the slant against her boyfriend was just too much.

"KEEP YOUR PAWS OFF MY BOYFRIEND!" Ruby finally exploded in a non acted way; her friends didn't believe for a second that she had bought the lies of the thief, but it seems that she was unable to handle the mere idea of another girl trying to go for the priest.

"Hey! Calm down! I'm not stealing him or anything, in fact, I'm pretty certain that he is way too much man for a single woman… come to think of it, I may have invite my team leader on future meetings!" Emerald pushed further, yet Weiss managed to put a hand on Ruby's shoulder before she could go violent.

"So, what brings you here?" Blake asked in an amused tone, making sure to denote that she thought that all the banter was just Emerald having fun, and not a real affair.

"Well, just wanted to tell you that our team advanced, and Mercury and I will participate in the double battles; how about you?" Emerald replied, not stopping her playful tone.

"Well, after our great victory, we put the selection to a vote, and Yang and I will be the ones representing team RWBY in the next stage of the tournament." Weiss clarified with as much dignity as possibly.

"Yeah! We are going to kick ass!" Yang added while bumping her fists together, looking as childish as possible.

"Nice! I hope we can meet sometime during the tournament, although don't think we'll go easy on you just because we are friends!" Emerald stated, giving a smirk that was easily translated on her underestimating them.

"Same to you." Weiss added on behalf of her team, going the extra mile to sound as arrogant as possible.

"Well, I won't take any more of your time; I have to babysit my teammate after all." Emerald said now as a farewell, while looking over her shoulder to where mercury was standing… smelling boots from a stand.

"Well… good luck with that." Blake replied, and then departed along her team toward a previously agreed place; at that moment, Mercury approached Emerald, with his annoying grin plastered on his face.

"So, how did it go with our friends?" Mercury asked in what Emerald called his most annoying tone, making air quotations didn't help the image.

"I hate them; I can't stand them being so… happy." Emerald replied with frustration, berating them for having such perfect lives, and such caring boyfriends; money, love, friends… things that they hadn't work for, and as such, didn't deserve them… things that she lacked and wished for.

"And your love rival?" Mercury asked now, being even worse.

"Typical bitch that can't stand the truth; I kind of feel sad for Kanetsugu… he is probably very frustrated for having to deal with that virgin." Emerald replied with a faint blush; on one of her attempts to get closer to the battle monk, she followed him into the showers, just to notice that he was the wielder of a much greater sword than his fabled Justice…

"Woah! Calling him by name now? Should I tell Cinder about your feelings?" Mercury asked in an accusatory voice that sent shivers through Emerald's spine.

"WHAT?! NO! I just!..." Emerald couldn't even form a reply or denial, much less with her massive blush.

"Got you! Don't worry, I couldn't care less about who you pursue, or what do you do for fun, so, do what you will; that aside, did you get what we were looking for?" Mercury finally asked, letting the thief rest her mind for a while; he really didn't care though, as his aim was the body of another, more developed woman.

"Yeah; it is the heiress and the bimbo." Emerald reported, but when they were about to smile at their small victory, a sudden sensation assaulted them; it was like being in front of some savage creature, like facing unavoidable death, a sudden surge of violence and malice rushing at them, in an instant, they were back to back, looking everywhere for the source of such hostility in a feeble attempt to defend themselves… it took them almost three minutes to finally notice that the rest of the people around them were now laughing at their act…

"It seems that I have yet to learn to properly mask my presence… but at least I can scare them from this distance with only my killing intent; I wonder if Hanzo-sensei would be proud of this?" Ranmaru whispered to himself from his spot, a tree branch ninety feet away from the targets; it was fun for him to think how a mere slip at hearing them badmouth his beloved Yang had them cowering like chickens, something he will remember for later, when the time comes to finally spill their blood.

A little later, at a food stand…

"… and then she tried to sound as if she had been doing lewd things with you!" Ruby finished her report while the old man was finishing their dishes, incredibly large bowls of ramen, with little differences between orders, except in Blake's order, which was impossible to tell what was more abundant, the noodles or the fish.

"It must have been really hard on you, I'm sorry you have to deal with all of this, my love." Kanetsugu replied, feeling really angry at this, knowing that should he stepped in to deal with the thief, the plan would come down crumbling, making things more difficult in the future.

"It's ok; I know it is all lies… I know you are a very strong man, but you don't really need another woman, right?" Ruby's shy question made the monk hug her even closer, which was admittedly harder to pull off considering she was already being hugged while sitting on his lap.

"My love, you are the only woman I'll ever need." Kanetsugu wisely replied, giving her a sweet kiss to make the words even more meaningful; the moment was accidentally broken by Yang and Ranmaru, giggling like school girls… the rest of their teammates were understandably scared of this.

"Sorry, Ranmaru was just telling me the juicy details of his surveillance." Yang replied at seeing the startled faces of the others, while Ranmaru gave a cute girlish smile while sitting on her lap.

"Do we want to know?" Blake asked with understandable apprehension, knowing that to make Ranmaru this happy, something rather horrible had to have happened… or he did something evil.

"Please no, we are about to eat." Mitsuhide suddenly replied, to which the others silently agreed; it was then that their orders arrived, and Weiss was fast to show a shiny credit card.

"Allow me; I really want to see if my allowance is still there." Weiss explained before being questioned, to which no one objected to; it took only one minute for the old man to show that the credit card was rejected.

"Well… I can't say I wasn't expecting that." Weiss said while getting her now useless card back.

"I… am sorry to hear that, Weiss." Blake spoke with sincerity, knowing that life has just turned harder on her friend.

"Don't be, it is actually liberating; now I can go on without my father's shadow remembering me that I'm a Schnee." Weiss replied with neutrality, while shifting slightly on her seat… her boyfriend's lap.

"Now it'll be my money, and my love, remembering you that this is your path to happiness." Mitsuhide said as he embraced the ice princess, who smiled with a blush, although the others groaned.

"Mitsuhide, please leave the corny stuff to Kanetsugu, at least he makes it sound grandiose." Nobunaga's remark had everyone laughing, especially his girlfriend, whose moves were pleasant to feel on his lap.

"Hey guys! Do you mind if we join you?" Jaune's voice had their attention immediately, having all eight tense for a second, as if ready to draw steel, and blood; team JNPR didn't notice though, as Jaune was as distracted as ever, and the rest of his team had more things to deal with, like Pyrrha still looking over her shoulder, as if expecting a village girl to pop into existence and try to seduce her boyfriend, or Ren dealing with Nora, who constantly tried to get a hold of him.

"Would it make it any different if any of us said yes?" Mitsuhide answered in what Jaune calls his funny side, an obvious misunderstanding of the distaste that the samurai felt at the sudden intrusions that this particular team liked to make.

"We'll pay for the meal." Pyrrha's offering was of little weight to the samurai warriors, as they had more than enough founding to not need any help for years.

"We don't really need it, but, if you want to stay…" Ruby's words were taken as permission, and soon Pyrrha and Nora tried to imitate team RWBY's antics, with a little less success.

On another side of the fair…

Penny kept interacting with the 'butterfly', getting more data with each passing day, ensuring that the enemy only received what was needed to let it act, all geared to guide her to an incredibly lethal trap; Penny was just as good natured as Ruby, and thus wanted only happy things to happen, meaning that she had been having trouble in following the orders, feeling pity for this enemy… but that had been in the past, because at some point Nobunaga decided that she was worthy of knowing more about what was really going on, that day her sense of pity died, along with any hopes of her asking team NKRA from not going too far.

"I must admit that you really looking good in that fight, I think your opponent soiled his pants while you assaulted him." Ciel said to her fake boyfriend, obviously trying to keep with the image of following the General's orders.

"Thank you, but let's be honest, your tactical fire support helped greatly on keeping them defenseless." Leo replied, trying to sound as if he really wanted to get within arm's reach of the girl he is supposed to date; it would have helped if they weren't that far apart.

"Hey, Penny, have you decided who will go into the next round?" Kage asked in his usual and now loveable happy voice, obviously expecting him and the lion faunus to be selected for obvious reasons.

Penny looked at her team, full of loveable idiots that somehow began to look more human and less than heartless soldiers; Penny had just received the latest data that the enemy had tried to access, her data, and that was a turning factor in this game of life and death. Within the span of a second, she had noticed all the data she could manipulate and what she could sabotage; she started by allowing some outdated data to be accessed by the enemy, then she sabotaged the data of one of her teammates, letting the bitch believe that Kage was a simple adept at manipulating fire, hiding all the data about his true interactions with that force of nature, then she wrote a possible scenario for Nobunaga to refine…

"Yes, you and me!" Penny replied after finishing her preparations, making it look like she had spent only a couple of seconds on thinking it.

"Really? I thought you would prefer me to go in your place." Leo said in obvious worry; his leader did not enjoy the face of pain on her opponent, so they believed that she would drop from the tournament.

"I'm serious; I really want to make my father proud. Hic!" Penny replied, making Ciel shook her head at her daddy's girl antics.

"If that is what you want, then that's what you want! I'm ready to burn for you." Kage said while striking a pose, making Penny giggle… then she turned serious.

"Then come with me, we need to think on a strategy." Penny suddenly said, and then grabbed the troublemaker to drag him to some place unknown.

"Lovely; they left us to keep focus on our mission." Ciel noted with disdain, loathing what may come next.

"It seems so, how thoughtful of them; so, what couples are supposed to do?" Leo's question was more sarcastic than anything else; after all, the fairgrounds had a lot of activities that seemed perfect for a date.

"How am I supposed to know?" Ciel's reply was not what she was supposed to say.

"You are hopeless…" Leo added, even sounding condescending, with a sad smile that hinted to going as far as to pity her.

"Fuck you." Ciel tried to make a comeback like a boy would do, then she noticed how Leo raised an eyebrow, meaning he was thinking something else…

"Not in that way, you big dick!" Ciel tried to change the insult, then turned red at seeing the lion faunus raise both eyebrows this time, with a truly cheeky smile.

"I didn't mean it that way…" Ciel tried to defend, but it was way too late.

"Of course; pervert." Leo's final answer led to Ciel jumping at him to try to land a rain of punches, making them look like lovers during a playful spat.

A little far away…

Kage had thought on pushing Penny against a tree to start a romantic moment, thinking that in her pursuit of new experiences she would like to taste the sensation of raw muscle showing her how manly her boyfriend was… imagine his surprise when he was the one pushed and held against said tree…

"Err… Penny?" Kage tried to start a conversation, not failing to notice how he was the one who sounded like a nervous girl on her first date.

"I need to ask to what degree you love me. Do you see me as a friend? More than a friend? Maybe a lover?" Penny asked with an urgency that was frightening, as if his answer would define the course of their tale.

"I… love you; I love your smile, your quirky moves, and the way you like to analyze everything. I would like to be by your side enough time to see if we can work together as… lovers." Kage replied, unable to lie of sheer fear; Penny's grasp was also helping to come out clear, as he felt his arms getting numb despite the thick muscle.

"I see. Would you lie for me?" Penny asked now, with a hard stare that seemed to burn hotter than any flame Kage had felt before.

"Well, yes. Aren't I doing that already? I mean, I have told no one of your prosthetics." Kage replied now, finally smiling at seeing how Penny was softening her features, then she placed him down, letting go of his sore arms.

"Then, I need you to lie about your semblance, for now on, until I face mortal danger, do not let anyone know of your relationship with fire." Penny demanded with a serious voice, making the red head to become worried sick for her; he remembered about the supposed plot to murder her, but with the trip to Patch Island, he believed that the General had launched a counter tactic.

"I… I can do that; I can do anything for you, really. But, what was that about…" Kage couldn't finish, because Penny planted a kiss on his lips, leaving him stupefied, and ready to obey anything.

"Just do it; I want a happy ending, for us." Penny finished, and then dragged him to the stadium, as it was important to be in sight and make things look normal; Nobunaga was right, the more the enemy thought that there was nothing to fear, the easier would be to destroy it in the final move, it was dirty, it was unfair, more akin to cheating, but really, was it improper?

' _We all are having our happy ending, even if we have to paint the city with blood.'_ Penny allowed dark thoughts to invade her for a moment, knowing that it was necessary to ensure that the light prevailed.

At the stadium…

The people watched the two teams entering the arena, one was a local team that contained a well renowned champion, the other was a group of trainees with very little fame gained on their school, however, the one with the most eyes on his back, was the leader of team JNPR; Nobunaga had made an enormous effort to spread the rumors about Jaune, turning him into some kind of newly discovered prodigy, tales of his tactical mind had been exaggerated even further as the foreigners began to arrive, turning his failures in class as a devious plan to lower the guard of the opponents during the tournament, thing all too well believed since Pyrrha Nikos was practically eating from his hand, now everyone watched the battle that was about to begin, some hoping that the guy could live up to expectative, and others wanting to gauge him as a threat.

" **BEGIN!"** Professor Port called the match to begin, to which team BRNZ (Bronze) separated, with the only girl running to the forest line, and the three guys charging full speed against team JNPR.

"Ok guys! CASTLE FORMATION!" Jaune immediately commanded, going into a half crouch with the shield at the ready; Pyrrha immediately went to his side, placing her shield exactly like him, forming a wall that was cemented with their resonating auras, Nora crouched just behind the shields, grenade launcher at the ready, and Ren stood like a monument behind them.

"SPREAD" The leader of team BRNZ ordered to his two teammates, knowing that they needed to break their defensive formation if they wanted their sniper to apply the required pressure to defeat Pyrrha; he didn't had enough time to regret his choice.

"Flank killer!" Jaune's order was put into action with frightening efficiency; Ren immediately used Storm Flower to force the spreading guys to jump and clash against each other, making the fusillade to rain on single points of their bodies, reducing their auras at a fast speed, then he crouched down to be lost behind the wall.

"Siege breaker!" The next order of the blond had him and Pyrrha moving the shields to simulate the opening of a castle gate, letting the opposing guys see Nora's savage grin, and the canon of her launcher; six shots were fired in rapid succession, leaving the boys no time to escape the incoming explosives.

The sniper of the team had just reached a nice branch when the sound of the explosion reached her ears, but the buzzing sound was what broke her concentration though, as she just couldn't believe what had just happened in the small time that she had taken to reach her camping site.

" **AND THAT IS WHAT MAKES A TEAM DANGEROUS! TEAMWORK AT IT'S FINEST!"** Dr. Oobleck couldn't help to praise the show given by team JNPR, especially when instead of gloating about their almost secured victory they had decided to remain in formation to deal with the remaining enemy.

"Pyrrha, can you feel her?" Jaune whispered to his girlfriend and second in command, who merely smirked at his ease at command.

"Yes, she is right in front of us; what do we do?" Pyrrha asked, if only to give him more support as a leader.

"Ok, we do this as safely as possible. Walking fortress!" Jaune ordered, making Nora take the rear, and Ren to be between him and Pyrrha; Pyrrha used the shape of her shield to mount her rifle, while Ren placed his sub-machine guns at the top of the shields, neither took the chance to look over the safe wall.

"What the hell?" The sniper asked aloud, not knowing how to deal with these freaks; she had hoped to at least take one of them to avenge her teammates, but this guys seemed to think that they would die if going out of cover; she took some shots to test the mettle of the shields, just to find that they were pretty much impervious to her weapon.

"Full Frontal!" Jaune suddenly ordered, and his team began to advance in coordinated speed; Pyrrha and Ren were shooting without looking, using only the general direction of the enemy as reference, this paid off though, as the sniper fell from her perch when she entered in panic due to the hail of bullets, and once she was visible, it was over.

"GGHHHAAAAA!" The sniper girl screamed as bullets rained on her until the buzzing sound too over, signaling one of the shortest battles of the tournament.

" **AND TEAM JNPR WINS BY OVERKILL! Still, can someone go check if the others are ok?"** As funny as Professor Port's comment was, there were some who truly went to the arena fearing the worst about their fellow students; the battle may have been short and pretty much a tactical show, but wasn't any less savage than the others.

Jaune and his team were basking in the cheering of the public, enjoying their moment of fame, not knowing how many frowns and wicked smiles they had forced to appear in the shadows. Nobunaga had a lot of trouble hiding his malevolent smile, for this had gone far beyond expectations; he had hoped that Jaune would put a decent show, but instead he proved to be a brilliant tactician and a battlefield controller, granted, his tactics wouldn't work against everyone, but they had worked nicely for his plan, especially since he could smell the delicious fear that was coming out of Cinder, who looked at Jaune as if she had found a fearsome adversary, her only obstacle in her crusade.

"Holy shit! That was awesome!" Mercury couldn't help but to voice his opinion; he was truly amazed at the display, and really wanted to beg Cinder to allow him to fight that guy; Cinder, however, had a worried face.

"Cinder, do we have to take extra steps?" Emerald asked to her leader, knowing that they had not expected to find another strong opponent.

"No, at least not now; we need the champion to reach the finals, so we can't do much about it. Mercury, make sure to pay the blond a visit AFTER they pass the second round; if he wants the glory of the finals, ensure he thinks better about it, and allows the champion to move as she deserves." Cinder replied, giving her rather dark order at the end; on her seat, Neo smiled and made notions of giggling, as if approving, little they knew that she was having fun with their stupidity.

' _Poor blonde, nothing more than a decoy for the great Lord; still, a piece worth protecting, better let them know about the dangers, not that Lord Nobunaga has no countermeasures about this.'_ Neo thought to herself as she kept eating popcorn; she hated that the playboy had purchased the cheapest kind, but still, not her money.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Next chapter will have team NKRA facing against... team SSSN; get ready for something cool!


	35. Setting the Bar

**Magnus:** There we go, a chapter with a little more action, enjoy! And remember: Read and Review!

 **Disclaimer:** I guess nobody is taking on the challenge?

* * *

 **Chapter 35**

 **Setting the Bar**

Near the docks of the city, inside a small establishment called 'the Crow Bar', a man of raven hair was drinking quite heavily while only stealing glances into the TV; he had noticed something off about team RWBY's fight, but couldn't put the finger on it, other teams were just as inexperienced as he guessed, and team JNPR's only gained a raised eyebrow from him.

"Not a bad fight, eh?" The Barman said as a way of being friendly, knowing that the one he was serving was a fully fledged hunter, and not some shady guy.

"Meh." The man replied with not too much enthusiasm, knowing well that in an unknown battlefield, and with enemies really intent to kill them, the shield kids wouldn't really last, at least not without support.

"Oh! I've been waiting for this one!" The barman said once more, making the man look at the screen, finally paying attention to the battle that was about to begin.

" _I don't know if there is anything to uncover about them, but if it is possible, check on the young Oda, as he seems more akin to… our enemies."_ Ozpin's words had been too ominous for the raven haired man, to the point of sobering him up… to a mild degree.

At the stadium…

" **And now, entering the stage is one of the most testosterone filled teams that have registered this year; team SSSN (Sun)!"** Professor Port filled the stadium with his voice, helping Sun and his team to enter the arena in full glory; down in the arena, Sun and his team waved to the audience, with him showing off his chest and abs as much as possible.

" **Indeed, a most renowned team from Mistral, but will they have en what it takes to overcome our local favorite? The one and only team filled with the blood of Edo! Team NKRA!"** Dr. Oobleck took his turn to introduce the awaited team of the once lost blood… but there were no cheers.

"Oh, Oum!" "For real? Is he going to fight like that?!" "No! No! They can't force him…" Loud voices began to resound through the spectators, as seeing the most beloved priest of Edo painfully walking with a cane was heartbreaking; Nobunaga had been relentless on his working, making sure that the rumors about the priest were always consistent, making sure to lead to this conclusion, of having him look frail and vulnerable, yet never saying that he was weak.

"I wonder how they are going to go about three legs down there." Mercury said to his team, with so little tact that the girls didn't take too much time in sensing the glares of other spectators.

"Mercury, please don't be a jerk. It is obvious that he forced himself to enter so his team is not eliminated by default." Cinder tried to come with an explanation, and yet she was curious; everything related to Edo mentions that the warriors, specially the religious ones, would never stop fighting even when their bodies are falling apart.

"Okay, okay, geez! I just wanted to lighten up the mood. Still, Emerald should relax a little bit; I don't think that the opposing team is going to attack the lovey-dovey guy with all they have." Mercury replied now, making the rest of his team to look at Emerald, who had her hands almost clawing her seat at how worried she was.

"What?! Hey! It's not what you are thinking." Emerald replied, not fooling anyone.

"Then, explain to us, please." Cinder said in a rare non-playful tone.

"I… still have to fulfill my mission. I have to… taint his heart. Remember?" Emerald replied with a nervous tone, while vaguely remembering the reason behind said mission.

I happened before the mountain Glenn incident, Emerald had hurt herself after a practice, after spending all her aura; it was a deep gash on her hand, meaning a long lasting scar, but then Kanetsugu approached her, and healed her wound with an energy that felt so warm and kind, that it was impossible to forget. Emerald never knew that he did so because his creed complied him to do so, because it was the right thing to do, and not because he had been interested in her; in fact, she has never noticed how much he actually loathes her, leaving her with the idea that the priest would actually embrace her, and keep her happy.

 **At least she doesn't look like the priest's girlfriend.** Neo showed her sign, forcing the rest of the team to look at the petite scythe wielder, who had her hands linked as if praying.

Down in the arena things weren't easier for team SSSN, as their leader had begun a stare contest with the visionary, the others began to make their pre-selection of opponents; Neptune made the horrible mistake of friendly waving at Ranmaru, marking him at opponent; Mitsuhidie stood directly in front of the pirate themed Scarlet, who gave a meek nod in understanding, leaving the muscular Sage to stand before Kanetsugu, already feeling the collective glares drilling into his soul. Nobunaga had planned the entire fight since the moment Penny gave him the manipulated charter of fights from the first round, thus, he made the selection of opponents to keep their potential hidden; Kanetsugu facing Sage was the perfect plan, as that way the priest will not have to show any level of agility, favoring a static defense.

" **Combatants, ready in three, two, one… BEGIN!"** Oobleck was the one to call the match to start, making the members of both teams to scatter around and have their individual duels, leaving only Kanetsugu and Sage in the center of the arena.

"Hey, you sure you want to fight?" Sage said to the priest, trying to sound serious, and not mocking like the rest of his teammates.

"Unless you intend to peacefully surrender, yes." Kanetsugu replied with the same tone, taking a bunch of paper charms from his robes, but not unsheathing his sword.

"Very well; please try to not end with worse injuries." Sage added as he readied his greatsword.

"Really? Couldn't you make it any less obvious?" Nobunaga asked to the monkey faunus, who darted after him like a locked on missile.

"It's a little hard to give up for me, besides, she is worth showing off to; don't you agree?" Sun asked while readied his bo staff, showing that he was more serious than ever.

"I couldn't agree more! So, go ahead, scream, squirm and crawl while begging for mercy, Saru no baka; so my dear Belladonna gets ready for a night full of pleasure in my chambers!" Nobunaga went for the full dramatic push of buttons, sending the monkey faunus into deep primal rage, not only by remembering him how deep that relationship was, but hinting to the catgirl going full dark now.

"So… cutepie; would you consider going in a date with me after this is over?" Neptune had darted to the top of a mountain spawned by the arena, fleeing from the beach on the other side, and when he noticed who had went after him, he was finally able to return to his playboy face.

"Thankfully, my beloved is not one who likes to share her personal things; and even if she were, neither of us have such a bad taste." Ranmaru replied while taking his nodachi from his back, still sheathed, and well secured with a beautiful pink ribbon that he won't break unless his Lord orders it.

"Hey, no need to be like that, besides, maybe you only need to take a taste of my charms to find what you like; your hot sweetheart is invited too." Neptune added while reading his guan-dao, feeling thoroughly insulted by the cool beauty.

"Hentai-teme; after I'm done with you, the kingdoms will be saved from suffering the possibility of you having any offspring." Ranmaru replied with a calm voice… and a sweet smile, leaving the playboy with an uncanny sense of fear.

"That is some nice hair, what's your secret?" Scarlet asked to the samurai boy while carefully checking his flint pistol and saber; he had moved to the shore line, if only to enhance his getup.

"Carefully combing it each morning, and avoiding unnecessary sunlight; I myself am intrigued by your eyelashes, that look like an awful lot of work." Mitsuhide replied while ceremoniously unsheathing his katana, he was no stranger to pre-duel banter, as it was common among warriors of lower caste… not that he considered them lesser warriors, just less educated.

"Thanks for noticing, they are quite the ladies magnet! But yes, they are an awful lot of work, but well worth it. Hey, would you mind if we don't aim for the face, I don't think the ladies will tolerate if any of us get an ugly scar." Scarlet added while finally entering in a battle stance, not losing his smile the whole time.

"Seems like a reasonable request; I myself reckon that my beloved would be truly upset if I happen to lose even a single strand of hair." Mitsuhide conceded while adopting a basic sword stance.

In their seats, the members of team RWBY looked at their boyfriends with enamored hearts… and worried eyes; they knew that the boys would stick to the plan, but at the same time, they knew that this particular team was selected by the enemy with the sole purpose of seeing the boys going all out, so they were worried about how they will go to balance the result, and how much they will have to help them work out the frustration of this battle.

"Don't worry this will be quick." Sage said as he got closer to the priest, reading his sword for an overhead slash, full intended on finishing the encounter with just one swing; for him, it was a mercy finisher, aimed to deal the least amount of pain, while taking out what he believed was a token participation, he also knew that the others were going to require help, as the rest of the Edo team was in top shape, and carried quite the reputation.

"Yes, I know it will; your balance is quite poor." Kanetsugu replied while throwing the paper charms at the tall boy; Sage was confused at first, until the paper charms adhered to his sword, forcing it to go to the side, leaving the battle monk unharmed.

"What the?!" Sage was understandably surprised, unable to believe that his powerful swing had been swatted like the efforts of a child wielding a twig.

"Has nobody taught you? More dangerous than a ferocious prey, is a prey that is wounded and cornered; that is a cornerstone of a hunter." Kanetsugu lectured as he had more paper charms gluing themselves to the body of the sword wielder.

"No! Stop it! Gha!" Sage struggled and yelled as he was being enveloped, and then, with a hand motion from the priest, he was struck with a large dosage of lightning; many spectators winced at seeing such brutal and efficient victory, while the flock of the Voice of the Heavens cheered loudly at the victory of their leader… more of relief at seeing him unharmed than anything else.

" **What a shocking victory, shocking indeed!"** Oobleck's praise and pun could have earned groans if not for the sarcastic undertone on his voice; the local students laughed good heartily at his remark, while the visiting people were still struggling to believe how easily the limping guy had defeated a clearly superior foe. Suddenly everyone got worried when the priest sat in the middle of the arena, in a lotus position, it was hard to tell if he was simply going to wait the end of the battle, or if he had done what he could, and now was simply out of it.

"Holy shit! Don't you ever lower your guard?!" Scarlet screamed as he continued his futile assault against the samurai; no matter how many times he swung at him or how many times he shot his pistol, Mitsuhide never moved backwards, only forward.

"The only one who can get my guard lowered, is the one who wants it up the most; she is quite adamant on making me work on my iron defense." Mitsuhide nonchalantly replied, still advancing half step by half step; suddenly Scarlet jumped back farther than usual, leaving a much larger gap between the two.

"Ok, I think it's time for a daredevil tactic… for the public." Scarlet announced as he crouched while holding the saber in an inverted grip.

"Fair enough; let's give the people a spectacular ending." Mitsuhide replied while sheathing his katana; Blake no longer winced nor cringed at the sight, for she could now tell that there was a massive difference between Adam's technique, and Mitsuhide's Iaido.

"SPIRAL SLASH!" Scarlet shouted while leaping forward, rapidly spinning with the sabre extended outward, well ready to clash with the samurai, full intended on slashing him many times.

"Iainuki!" Mitsuhide's loud voice was accompanied by a flash of light and a beautiful ringing sound, the resulting image was that of Scarlet moving past him, with his saber turned into many pieces, and his clothes thorn apart.

"At least… it looked cool… as hell…" Scarlet muttered as he fell to the ground with the buzzing sound signaling the end of his participation; Mitsuhide carried him to let him rest by the side of the large sword wielder, going as far as to fix a strand of hair that got slightly messed up, then he sat by Kanetsugu's side.

"What a flashy way to go!" Port voiced what many had in their minds; people among the public began to wonder what chance the Mistral team had to begin with, if their strongest integrant was swatted away by the injured priest, and the most agile looking one was crushed in just one blow.

"Are you feeling alright?" Mitsuhide asked while taking a dignified knelt down position.

"My lower back hurts; I really hope I can quit the limping soon." Kanetsugu replied with a tired sigh, for the faking of wounds not only hurt his pride, but his health too.

"Well, sleeping with a warm body by your side will do wonders for your health, not that you need to fight in this tournament anymore." Mitsuhide added with a sly smile, making the monk blush at the implications.

The spectators began to notice that team NKRA had taken this battle as a set of duels, and found it baffling how instead of taking advantage of the superiority in numbers, they decided to show their honorable face by allowing the other members of team SSSN to complete their own fights without interrupting, it was a strange practice, and it spoke volumes on how much they believed in their comrades.

"Woah! Just like in the spars!" Mercury shouted in excitement, already aching to fight against these two with no restrictions, failing to notice Cinder's face.

"Exactly like that?" Cinder's question was more a rhetoric one, not liking how they looked as if not giving their all; Cinder saw that the samurai boy, Mitsuhide, could give Adam a run for his money, and as such, she decided that such match was not to be held, Kanetsugu still worried her the most, because if that was what he was capable of in such a pitiful state, then he was a much greater foe than what she believed at first.

"Gha!" Neptune screamed as he was disarmed, his guan-dao sailing away and down the mountain, and his pride as a man taken down several notches by the silly smile on the cute girl that was manhandling him with supernatural ease.

"Don't fret over it; it's not like I deprived you of your manliness." Ranmaru playfully said as he got closer; Nobunaga had been clear, no killing, no maiming, and not going full strength, he had failed to include humiliation and mauling to the prohibitions though…

"You know, you are no longer cute! I don't think there is a single man in the world who would want to stay near you!" Neptune had reverted to a childish behavior, throwing insults in hopes of finding a window to get away, or try a dirty trick.

"I think that's good; I rather be left alone with my beloved after all. Still, many would disagree with you, our public still finds me cute, while they find you less manly." Ranmaru said as he got even closer, his deviant smile forced the hunter in training to look at the surrounding spectators, seeing many girls look at him with distaste, especially the one from his own academy.

"I… I can do this; I can do this without a weapon! I'm going to show you just how manly I…" Neptune tried to give a speech to gain time and recover; he only got Ranmaru's weapon slammed against his genitals, earning a loud and painful yell; most males winced, and many females began to giggle. The blue haired playboy was popular back in Mistral, but after hearing him act and talk in the battle, he lost most of his positive points, and that hit to his jewels had many girls feel avenged.

"Oh, you want to yell some more? I'll gladly give you rightful reason to do so!" Ranmaru said as he continued to hit Neptune in the same place, repeatedly.

" **THAT CAN'T BE LEGAL!"** Port's voice had most males in the audience nodding depseratly.

" **Actually it is. In fact is expected of anyone who suffers sexual predation, and the huntsmen and huntresses in training are no exempt of this."** Oobleck explained, in an obvious attempt to ensure that no one feels pity for the playboy; Ozpin was actively avoiding the suffering of the Mistral student, while Glynda couldn't stop smiling at such appropriate punishment.

"Why? Why did you have to corrupt her?!" Sun shouted as he continued his assault, with no semblance of success whatsoever; to be fair, Sun was fighting like never before, but Nobunaga had previously seen his style, and the capabilities of his weapon.

"Corrupt her? You speak as if you knew her beforehand; have you ever thought that maybe she had inner darkness of her own? That perhaps I just helped her to be free? Is every Saru this stupid?" Nobunaga replied while blocking each and every strike with his sword, almost feeling sorry for comparing this weakling to the other Saru he knew and trusted… almost.

"NO! I'm sure she was a saint until you touched her!" Sun continued, almost failing to notice a key factor in Nobunaga's performance; he wasn't using his semblance to strengthen his damned sword.

"Well, I can agree that she may as well be a saint, as it feels heavenly when we join as a single flesh." Nobunaga countered as he replied, sending the monkey faunus to the ground, just to jump to his feet in an instant.

"Stop it! You damned pervert, stop talking about her like she is just an object of pleasure!" Sun screamed in rage, separating his bo-staff into his iconic gun-chucks; yet he couldn't get Nobunaga to show his semblance.

"Me? Talking like that about her? But you are the one who can't understand that she is not interested in you! Every day I have taken care of all her needs, always bowing to the desires of her heart, never going beyond what she wants; you on the other hand, can't help but to fantasize about taking her from my side, and imprinting your scent on her body as a shown of conquest. You are the one with a sick mind; you are the one who should be put down before anyone gets raped." Nobunaga explained with an overdramatic voice, not hiding his delight at how Sun's face contorted in several stages of rage; Nobunaga had found that the faunus were fearsome when calm and collected, but no different from animals once they have given in rage, meaning that they were easier to deal with than truly skilled humans.

"Bastard! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Sun yelled as he charged blinded by his fury; he moved faster than ever, swinging fast and hard, while shooting fast and accurate, but it didn't make any difference, and as quick as he unloaded the last salvo, Nobunaga made a side step, and hit the back of his head with the pommel of his sword, knocking him out thanks to all the aura wasted on the assault.

" **And there goes the leader of team SSSN! He should have known better than to blindly charge against the most brilliant mid of this generation."** Professor Port almost singed his praises, obviously delighted at seeing the visionary winning by throwing off balance the opponent.

"That was less epic than I expected…" Emerald said, mostly as a way to hide that she was looking way too much at Kanetsugu.

"He is a manipulator; instead of wasting his energy in the opponent, he forced the opponent to waste his energy. If the monkey boy had not listened to him, the battle would have been the complete opposite." Cinder explained, looking down upon the visionary; she quickly too note though, as Adam must be warned that listening to the visionary must be avoided, not that the bull faunus needed more incentives to murder the dark knight to recover his ex-girlfriend.

Neo was grateful for being a mute, as her thoughts didn't have the means to escape and ruin her cover; the visionary was a "must have" in her book, such brilliance and character was impossible to pass, which means that she now had to make a plan to convince the catgirl to allow a mistress in their lives… speaking of the catgirl.

"I'm so going to eat him tonight…" Blake said with a silly grin, her cat ears flopping happily, and her mouth drooling; that act had been not only heroic in her mind, but truly arousing… Ruby and Weiss were not amused though, but Yang only nodded in agreement, as her own boyfriend was earning extra fun points for each nut strike.

"Ranmaru, get that done already; we have more important things to do than wait for you to finish having fun." Nobunaga said as he passed Ranmaru, who was still hitting Neptune in the family jewels, with just enough strength to make it painful, but not enough to take the aura bar into the red.

"At once, my Lord!" Ranmaru replied, and then gave a final strike to Neptune, with a lot of strength, and well aimed to the genitals; the buzzing sound did nothing to hide the wincing voices of most males who not only watched the hit, but also hear the horrible sound of generations being killed. Neptune was left where he was, twitching every now and then, and receiving no pity at all.

"And that is going to be felt for generations to come!" Oobleck finished the encounter with some humor, not that he wasn't affected by the brutal show.

Back at the Crow Bar…

"Well, that was intense; Edo certainly is coming back to life… may as well try to put some Edo things to the bar." The barman said casually as he looked at the TV; the way the Edo team had handled the encounter spoke volumes of their standing, overpowering their opponents in all fields, and still looking respectful.

"That was bullshit!" The raven haired man blurted out, showing certain distaste for the way the battle had gone; Ozpin was not wrong, the leader of team NKRA was dangerous, and still, he wasn't right, for there was nothing there to link him to their enemies.

"You didn't like that? How about the other kids? Which fighter are you here for?" The barman asked with a little bit of disappointment, knowing that the performance of this particular team was the highlight of the day; then the raven haired man turned around to look at an arriving aircraft, bearing the atlesian insignias, but a custom design that was not that of a standard military vehicle.

"That one." The man answered, leaving a couple of lien cards; the barman watched with some worry how the man left his establishment, tumbling around in a very drunken state.

Later, at Beacon's docks…

"Weiss! Where are you going?! Who is it?" Ruby shouted at her friend and teammate as she ran behind her; Weiss had run out of the stadium as she saw the custom aircraft nearing the school, leaving everyone behind while sporting a desperate smile on her face. Ruby was fast to follow her, asking the other two girls to warn Kanetsugu and Mitsuhide of this development.

"Winter." Weiss replied as she looked at the aircraft with a dreamy expression; being truly in love with someone had given her happiness, but even that had to make room for the only family member she knew loved her back.

"Winter? Wait! Your sister is here?" Ruby asked in shock; she knew about said sister, mostly because once Weiss had warmed up to her, she began to tell tales about the military exploits of her heroic sister.

Winter Schnee walked out of her ship with a small entourage of guardian robots, knights, she looked around her, taking in the image of peace and comfort that Beacon portrayed, searching for the enemy, and of course, searching for her baby sister; it didn't take long for her to watch two young girls running toward her, one with white clothes and another in a red cape, however both seemed free, and well cared for, thing that was not what she expected to find.

"Winter! You came! I mean… You honor us with your presence." Weiss seemed to change manners when speaking with her sister, greatly confusing the scythe wielder.

"I'm here on official business, besides, no one wants to watch their own blood fail so miserably." Winter said in a stern voice, trying hard to not look at her sister; the light in her eyes, that truly happy smile, it was too much to bear.

"Fail? But we won." Weiss defended with a quiet voice, trying to read her sister like she had done on few occasions.

"Only an amateur would call that a victory; I counted at least three misses." Winter's judgment earned a reaction she wasn't accustomed to; instead of seeing her little sister squirm under her scrutiny, she looked at her leader, locking eyes and sharing a wordless exchange of information.

' _We fooled your sister?'_ Ruby managed to convey to the ice princess with her shocked expression.

' _I'm as shocked as you are.'_ Weiss wordless reply was no less important, as apparently the scheme had worked beyond expectation.

"Weiss! I told you to not move alone!" The voice of a young man broke the moment, earning Winter's undivided attention.

"But I wasn't alone; I had Ruby with me all the time." Weiss reported with a strange familiarity, something that surpassed the bonds of a normal couple.

"You know that is not what I mean; how am I supposed to protect you if you escape my field of vision?" The Samurai themed boy changed into a sweet voice of worry, going as far as to softly take the ice princess by the shoulders; Winter's imagination began to spin, way too quickly.

"Mitsuhide, don't make me blush in front of my sister…" Weiss finally said with a ridiculous large smile on her face, the rosy cheeks hinting at how much she was enjoying this overprotective act.

"Sister?" Mitsuhide asked while turning to look at Winter, who crossed her arms in her customary pose of 'you better behave properly, or else…', thing that has scared away many rich suitors that tried to get close to her little sister.

"So, Mitsuhide, what kind of relationship you do have with my sister?" Winter asked in the kind of voice that makes hardened soldiers stutter, not failing to notice the arresting features that no doubt had her little sister swooning.

"One of love; we intend to marry after we complete our personal goals in the near future." Mitsuhide's firm answer had both Schnee sisters frozen; then Weiss turned red, and covered her face in a feeble attempt to hide her face, not entirely in embarrassment, but due to her stupid smile attempting to ruin her reputation.

"Forgive me, it was rude of me to not introduce myself first; my name is Mitsuhide Akechi, of the Edo's nomad tribes, I hope I can earn your blessings so my life with your sister is one of peace and happiness." Mitsuhide's presentation had Weiss hugging him from behind, to hide her face on his back; Winter could no longer contain herself, and allowed her face to take the shape of that of a normal young woman.

"That was… is… HOW did you hook up with… him?" Winter finally asked, throwing away the stern façade; Ruby was about to call it out, when someone actually called for her.

"RUBY!" Kanetsugu's voice sounded somewhere in the distance, sounding worry, and slightly pained, as moving with the fake limping was putting too much strain on his lower back.

"TSUGU-TSUGU!" Ruby yelled back and then disappeared from sight, obviously running toward the priest.

"You reprimand me for running on my own, but you left Kanetsugu behind?" Weiss shot back to her boyfriend, sporting her always accepted smug face.

"It's not the same; name one thing that can possibly be a danger to him." Mitsuhide tried to defend his point, yet Weiss did not drop her grin.

"Fangirls?" Weiss answer had Winter face palm; one of the operations to carry on while staying in Beacon, was exactly that, deal with the overbearing fangirls that the priest was amassing without knowing, even when the news about his money was still a secret, the amount of unscrupulous bitches that wanted to sink their claws on him was ridiculous.

"Fine, I admit defeat; you'll have your prize in whatever way you want." Mitsuhide conceded defeat with a level of dignity that Winter believed proper of the Schnee, if her family ever conceded it, of course.

"Hmmm… I think I know how to properly enjoy this victory." Weiss had said too much, with a body language that was unbecoming of a Schnee… not that Winter disapproved.

"WEISS!" Winter shouted in an attempt to bring her sister into proper form, managing to succeed if the way she straightens up was any indication.

"Now, the three of us are going to have a very long chat about what is going on here, and why do you act like a couple already expecting a child." Winter just couldn't resist the urge of teasing them while usher them to walk.

"I thought it wasn't showing yet…" Weiss said, although with more acceptance than dejection; Winter came to a crashing halt, her brain not able to process what she just heard, in one hand, her overprotective side tried to surface, on the other, the abyssal depression of being utterly surpassed by her little sister was trying to engulf her whole. Winter decided to take a second look at her sister, and finally noticed that Weiss finally had some more meat over her bones, a more filled figure…

"Seriously, joking about that cannot be healthy for your sister; just look at how shocked you left her!" Mitsuhide suddenly called on the prank, making Weiss laugh, and Winter to reset her brain.

"JOKE?! Weiss, you seriously need a reprimand about pulling pranks like that!" Winter finally exploded, making the samurai chuckle.

"So it seems I was right, your family really looks better when being honest." Mitsuhide's words had the effect of calming Winter, and earning a hug from Weiss.

From the shadows, the raven haired man had watched the three white clad characters, their interactions, their faked acts, and their honest acts; now they were on their way to the gates of the academy, calmly chatting about beds and pastries, calmly moving as if nothing was wrong. The samurai was different, even from this distance, the smell of blood was powerful as it was nauseating, his steps resounding like war drums, and his eyes like a trained war beast; the man knew that moving too close was not possible, least he triggers the samurai, he didn't want to fight him, yet, so he began by allowing the bird of omens to announce his presence, successfully making the samurai stop, and the girls with him.

"You surely like to creep in the shadows, drunkard-san." Mitsuhide was the first to greet the man, making both Schnee sisters to turn around in defensive stances; the man looked not worried, still holding the headless bodies of the security detail that followed the senior Schnee.

"Isn't it the best way to approach someone? Anyway, I'm not her for you, murder-hobo, I'm here for the ice queen." The man said as he nodded to Winter, who was admittedly impressed by the abilities of Weiss' boyfriend; Winter frowned, knowing just at first glance the Mitsuhide would jump to fight this person at the least sign of hostility toward her and her sister, and he also knew that this man was too much for any student.

"What are you doing here, Qrow?" Winter asked in full hostile mode, making a discrete gesture toward the samurai, who immediately stood back, taking Weiss with him.

"The same could be asked of you and your boss, you bunch of sellouts." The now identified Qrow said with an air of superiority that made it hard to believe he was actually drunk; Mitsuhide knew that this was going to escalate too quickly, thus he sent a signal on his scroll, requesting help to avoid any danger to his new family.

"I don't think what you've heard about, but I've heard enough." Winter's tone was an obvious warning, with an undertone that made it obvious that any further exchange would only lead to bloodshed.

"Oh! I've heard enough too. About how the general finally turned his back on Ozpin." Qrow's voice denoted that he was not only not afraid of Winter, but was looking forward to a bloody battle as well.

"If you two don't stop this argument, I will be forced to pacify you." A voice that seemed to carry the authority of the heavens interrupted them, forcing them to take a look at the one carrying such voice; the image of the white clad priest had them in shock, the cane on his hand made it unmistakable, he was the target that both were ordered to protect with their lives… and he was being hugged by a not happy looking Ruby Rose.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Sorry for cutting it there, but can't add the next scene without another 5k words.


	36. Lessons Learned

**Magnus:** Sorry for the delay, I had to occupy myself in some difficult tasks that had my hands tied, but the story is getting closer to the end, so please, keep reading!

 **Disclaimer:** I wish I could get my hands in a good capuccino...

* * *

 **Chapter 36**

 **Lessons Learned**

At Beacon's courtyard, a stand still was taking place; two adults were standing ready to unleash aggression upon each other, while two students seemed ready to put an end to the hostilities by force if needed. Winter and Qrow knew that the priest was not to be underestimated, but that didn't mean they felt truly intimidated by him, much less the petite girl hugging him.

"Mister Naoe, please stay out of this." Winter tried to make the priest leave before she could unsheathe her blade.

"Yeah, listen to the sellout; she means to protect you, like Atlas will try to protect all of us." Qrow mocked for all he was worth, making Winter growl in annoyance; as much as Atlas would be happy to take over all the other kingdoms, they were not the conquerors that many made them look, their expansionism policy was that of being asked to stay for protection, at a reasonable covering of expenses, so when the people asked them to remain permanently, the covering on expenses just had to raise a little bit, and change the name to tax… Qrow had mentioned it as if they were invading.

"If you don't hold that tongue of yours, I'll gladly remove it!" Winter exclaimed as she reached for her weapon, full intent on delivering.

"Oh! Please, feel free to try." Qrow mocked once more while he bowed in an obvious attempt to further annoy her.

Winter unsheathed her weapon, ready to start and finish this conflict in a single blow; Qrow just got a hold of his own weapon, knowing way too well how the ice queen was going to move. The battle seemed ready to start, while many students had gathered to take a look at what was happening, then both adults felt something sticking to their foreheads, and with a hand motion from the priest, they found themselves hitting the ground in a ridiculous parody of two youngsters bowing to their leader for forgiveness.

"WHAT?!" Winter shouted in shock as she found herself unable to un-glue her forehead from the ground, or more accurately, from the paper square that was between her and the ground.

"HEY! THIS ISN'T FAIR! I was about to win!" Qrow shouted as he tried to remove himself from the humiliating position, the laughs from the surrounding students were truly getting in the nerves of the once aggressive adults.

"I tried to have you behave by mere word, instead you two choose this path; I won't release you until you learn your lesson, or someone of appropriate authority comes for the two of you." Kanetsugu explained, while watching both of his restrained targets redouble their efforts of getting free, going as far as to produce cracks in the stone floor around them, apparently not understanding that the paper charm was not glued to the ground.

"SCHNEE! / QROW!" The combined voices of the General and the Combat Instructor were more than enough to have the restrained pair go eerly quiet, obviously dreading having to explain their current predicament.

Later, at the headmaster's office…

"What in Oum's name were you thinking?! What do you think would have happened if you had actually started a fight in our courtyard?!" Glynda shouted as she entered the office, being closely followed by the General and the two now humiliated adults.

"I would have won." Qrow replied with a rather cheeky smile, trying to push the ice queen a little more.

"In your dreams." Winter seemed to be all too happy to continue their fight, but a simple glare from the General was more than enough to have her go quiet.

"And you… why did you had to indulge him in his game?" Glynda seemed all too happy to continue too on his tirade, unlike with Winter though, no glare would be enough to stop her.

"He was drunk!" Winter shot the only excuse she had, already noticing how it wouldn't help.

"He is always drunk!" Glynda retorted faster than a gun, forcing everyone in the room to take a look at the raven haired man; Qrow was in the middle of a much needed sip from his favorite alcoholic beverage when he noticed the stares, so, he reluctantly stopped before a proper reprimand could come his way… he would have to take a double swig later.

"Qrow… what are you doing here?" Ozpin finally asked, although the raven haired man noticed that he sounded slightly off…

"You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you, our enemy is here." Qrow replied with as much seriousness as possible, not liking that Winter was still in the room, and that Ozpin seemed to look at a point slightly away from him.

"We know." Ironwood replied with a dry tone, his stance only seemed to enhance the message that all his work had been for nothing.

"OH! Oh, you know! Well, thank Oum I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!" Qrow's irritation and sarcasm were more than evident, more when those who paid close attention noticed a small shift in eye coloration.

"Qrow…" Ironwood tried to interrupt, trying to stop losing time, but Qrow didn't give him the chance, interrupting him while taking out his scroll.

"Communication's a two way street, pal. You see this? That's the send button." Qrow kept the sarcasm high as he pointed to his scroll; his eyes looking on the atlesian pair as if they were ignorant cavemen.

"They had reason to assume you've been compromised." Winter's sudden interruption was delivered not only in a cold voice, but with a small smile that gave away how much she wanted to put herself on top of him.

"And I have reason to believe you don't need to be here. Seriously, who invited her?" Qrow couldn't be happier to deliver his killing line, internally basking at how wrong the Schnee woman was on her assumptions… he was about to be unpleasantly surprised.

" _ **That would have been me."**_ The otherworldly and deliberately evil voice had him and Winter springing into action, swinging their weapons and combined strengths against the source of the voice; they had struck something, but it wasn't what they expected.

"WHAT THE?!" Qrow and Winter could not believe the sight in front of them; a vaguely human shaped mass of darkness was standing there with their weapons going through it, but it wasn't harmed.

" _ **At least they are warriors with instincts well honed, valuable assets for the battles to come."**_ The distorted voice continued as the mass walked pass them, completely ignoring their weapons and the rather small gap between them; the mass suddenly separated in two, and the shapes finally took humanoid form, one was a young boy with a ridiculous tall pony tail, and the other a faunus girl with cat ears.

"Ozpin… what is going on?" Qrow asked as he recognized Nobunaga, the very onse student that Ozpin had declared as dangerous; Ozpin, however, limited himself to make a sign to lower his voice.

"General?" Winter asked in a low voice, sounding no less confused than the raven haired man.

"Now that we are all here, let's activate the special security systems." Ironwood ordered while the catgirl got closer to him while holding an open box; much to the surprise of the two agents, the general was the first to deposit his scroll inside the box, followed by Opin and Glynda, this led Winter and Qrow to partially understand that communications were indeed compromised, just in a level they were not aware.

"That is quite a heavy system…" Qrow muttered, knowing that following the game may be more important than never before; soon him and the elder Schnee put their scrolls in the box too, and followed the catgirl with their eyes as she went inside the elevator with the box in hand, once the doors closed, Glynda disconnected the headmaster's desk for good measure, making the others grimace at the implications.

"Now that we are safe, we need to talk." Ozpin finally reverted to the manipulative bastard that Qrow knows too well, thing that when combined by the absurdly intense stare of the visionary made for a scene that was making him feel a knot forming on his stomach… not that Winter was faring any better.

In another building…

"Are you certain it was him?" Cinder asked to the assassin, who looked honestly spooked.

"Bad hair, smells like my old man after a long day and I swear that blade on his back had to be a scythe… it was him." Mercury replied, although he still looked unsettled.

"And Kanetsugu had him and the woman defeated?" Emerald asked now, failing to notice Cinder's eye twitch at the mention of that name.

"They were struggling to stand up; that had to be one of his talismans, probably one with gravity dust… still…" Mercury had heard stories of the raven haired man, enough to obey Cinder without question when she ordered them to retreat while fighting the Autumn Maiden; seeing him so close, and then utterly defeated by the priest was not comforting at all.

"Hmmm… maybe they weren't fighting him? We have seen those… things in action before, everyone seem to pay them no attention until it's too late…" Cinder began to mutter, trying her best to recall everything that may give her a clue on to how to put an end to the wielder of the anathema.

"What do we do?" Emerald asked, meaning Qrow and not the priest.

"Nothing. We stay in course; they have no idea who we are, and we can move with impunity with the help of our cleaver little friend." Cinder finished as she checked her scroll, frowning at seeing the report of extra security measures being enacted in Ozpin's office.

"Something wrong?" Emerald asked now, dreading to hear a possible change of plans.

"Nothing really, just the General being paranoid, not that it will stop our little worm from getting us all the answers. Now go and get ready for tomorrow, the public needs a good show." Cinder replied as she hacked into the randomizer program for the tournament, ensuring that her lackeys could bring the worst emotions possible with the least effort, namely, by humiliating a popular target.

Back at the headmaster's office…

Qrow and Winter had to sit down as they began to be filled with information, one had been humiliated by looking at the obscene amount of data gathered by the visionary, the other was feeling sick at the level of craftiness and lack of remorse… or more like excess of delight. When Nobunaga started, he made it sound like a case of evil against evil; now they had to admit that it sounded like real evil against a mere bunch of bullies.

"That is… cleaver." Winter was the first to voice her thoughts, although she would admit to be grateful for this boy not being Weiss' boyfriend.

"I would say evil." Qrow finally spoke, recognizing that the approach of the visionary made him almost feel pity for the bad guys… almost.

"Evil would be to allow them to win." Nobunaga retorted, making everyone go silent in contemplation, while Glynda smiled.

"I still don't understand it; why can't we deal with them now? If we capture them, we can milk them for information and then strike their leader without even delaying the tournament!" Winter shot a rather sensible argument, one that had been floating around for some time now, not that the visionary wasn't ready for this.

"Right, of course, and who would wrestle with the witch, you? You couldn't even stand before Kanetsugu for more than a motion of his hand, yet you want to stand before the one who almost killed a legendary heroine?" Nobunaga explained with a voice that had Winter lowering her head; she had to accept that she was not in the same league as the one who almost killed the Autumn Maiden.

' _To defeat one of the Maidens means she is stronger than any human… this requires delicacy, not brute force…'_ Winter thought as she kept looking at the pictures and files on her hands; the beautiful woman with her delighted smile, and the long list of names that belonged to corpses paving her path, it was obvious that she was asking too much.

"We… All of us have gone over this several times now; it will work. The forces we have here will provide immediate support when the time comes, and the main force will arrive at the outskirts just before the attack, so we can secure aerial dominance from the first second." Ironwood explained, making sure to let it clear about how big this operation will be.

"Thankfully, the people do believe that the atlesian army present is only meant to perform a parade during the closing of the tournament, allowing their minds and hearts to be at ease, lessening the possibility of facing a Grimm invasion while we deal with their terror attack." Ozpin added, but Qrow could feel that something was not quite right, and he also noticed that Ozpin was well aware of that.

"And now we have to deal with you two. It was expected of you to show up and check on your family, however, you had to be made aware of what is going on so you don't… screw up. Unless they make a move, you are not to engage the enemy." Glynda said as she gave them a death glare, making them sink in their chairs due the intensity; apparently both had the idea of paying them a visit and murder the living shit out of them.

"My nieces…" Qrow finally tackled the goliath in the room; his breaking voice perfectly mirrored the feelings expressed on Winter's face, pure sheer horror.

"Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang are fully aware of the situation; it is my intention that their participation in the events to come remains minimal to non-existent. Unfortunately their destinies are so strongly connected to these events, that I can't guarantee that they won't be involved." Nobunaga explained with a tone that gave away that he was honestly sorry, and worried for their wellbeing.

"But, why?" Winter asked what was on Qrow's mind; Qrow's niece made sense, because she was way too close to the priest, but her sister?

"That won't be discussed here." Ozpin's answer was as ominous as it was startling, for it meant that there was way more going on.

"We are talking about my sister!" Winter finally broke; the despair in her voice was almost painful to hear.

"Schnee! It won't be discussed here." Ironwood's answer was akin to a direct order, forcing Winter to relent.

"Go to your family, warm your hearts with their smiles, and fuel your strength with your desire to protect them; guard my teammate as you intend to do, and remember that all of this is geared toward a happy ending for the good guys." Nobunaga finished, making Qrow give an unnoticed smile as he noticed that the last words belonged to Ruby, and not this warlord.

It took them a little more than a minute to gather their thoughts and reach for the elevator, where Blake was holding the box from where they took their respective scrolls; once inside the elevator, with the doors closed, they finally sighed.

"This… got more complicated than what I thought." Qrow said as he rubbed his eyes, still trying to digest just how deep this whole situation was, and aching to corner Ozpin to ask the difficult questions.

"Considering how little you use your brain, it is not surprising." Winter let out a surprise attack, but even Qrow noticed that it was not intended to hurt, but to demand attention; Winter was more than shocked, for she just learned that her little sister was involved in a war.

"Shut up, Ice Queen; at least you have an excuse to take a vacation while babysitting your sister and a man of the cloth. He shouldn't have stopped us…" Qrow replied while alluding to the interrupted fight, but Winter scoffed at his wording.

"Of course he shouldn't; I was assured victory." Winter said in her smug tone, which prompted Qrow to turn to face her while slamming his hand into the wall behind her.

"Want to have a go?" Qrow asked with a rather savage grin, a grin that had nothing to do with the alcohol in his blood; Winter just crossed her arms below her breasts, while a challenging gaze.

"Hmp! You will not last." Winter's words were more than enough to trigger the raven haired man, who understood that the soldier before him was in just the same need to vent out frustration and stress…

Weiss, Yang, Mitsuhide and Ranmaru were waiting for the elevator to come down, waiting for the troublesome duo that had forced Kanetsugu to make use of his paper charms once more; they had more reasons than simply orders to wait for these two, the most important being that they were family, and thus had the need to spend time with them, and forget for a little while the stress of the incoming war, they also wanted to protect them from the enemy, or more likely, to prevent them from doing something stupid that may endanger everyone… imagine their surprise when they saw the dors of the elevator opening…

"What the fuck?!" Yang couldn't contain her surprise or her tongue at watching her uncle and the white haired woman savagely making out; she knew that her uncle was quite the shameless play boy, but the woman looked no less hungry.

"Sis?!" Weiss was no less shocked at the scene, not giving credit to her eyes just as she didn't fail to notice their hands roaming almost every inch of the other's body. It was then that both adults separated from each other as fast as they could, Qrow with his hands held up, and Winter covering her mouth, the damage to their image was already there though.

"Wait a minute! Uncle, when you wrote about melting a frigid bitch you meant…" Yang began while taking turns between Qrow and Winter.

"Sis… you wouldn't mean to tell me that the scoundrel you straightened up was…" Weiss said almost at the same time; Yang and Weiss looked at each other with shocked expressions, and then turned to point fingers of disbelief at the adult figures before them, in the background, Mitsuhide and Ranmaru just shook their heads in anticipation of all the awkwardness that no doubt will follow.

"Let's go find Ruby!" Qrow nearly shouted as he grabbed Yang by the arm to drag her in a random direction, being closely followed by Ranmaru, of course.

"We need to talk!" Winter almost shouted too, while grabbing Weiss' arm and dragging her in the opposite direction that Qrow used, Mitsuhide barely resisted the urge to groan, feeling that this may give weird ideas to his beloved girlfriend.

Later at the medical wing…

Emerald had disguised herself as a nurse, and used her semblance to look like a different girl to fool the priest and the red caped girl; her current task was to simply check the health of the battle monk, and was not surprised to find that the record stated that he was suffering from aura exhaustion, most likely due to having to fight in the tournament, and then had to restrain a pair of dangerous warriors by himself. The record also mentioned important data, like his current inability to properly use his sword, meaning that for the time being, he was less of a danger than originally thought; he was still a danger, though, as his paper charms were still usable to full effect.

"Ok, now try to get some sleep while I go get you some tea." Ruby said with an extremely lovely voice, as if trying to pour in each syllable how much she loved and cared for him, making the thief feel nausea… and envy.

"I'll try, my love." Kanetsugu replied while Ruby covered his eyes with a small cloth; the voice of the priest gave goose bumps to the thief, there was so much love that it could melt anyone's heart, and she was furious it was not directed to her.

Emerald watched the petite girl exit the room, and took it as her cue to approach her target; she started by making examinations like a nurse would do, checking pulse, touching his forehead to see if he had no fever, and then she started to look at his chest. Emerald took a minute to appreciate the lean muscles of the boy before her, and when she noticed that he was sleeping, she decided to be bold… a lot bolder.

"You are quite the specimen, you know? What are you doing with that flat child?" Emerald almost whispered as she climbed the bed and began to straddle him, then her eyes went wide, and her smile turned perverted.

"Oh! Ok! You are armed well enough to take on a whole harem, are you not?" Emerald continued as she began to get closer for a kiss.

"So, would you mind if I join your list of conquests?" Emerald whispered as she became close enough to feel his steady breath on her skin… then she felt cold metal at her neck.

"I do." Ruby said from behind her; the absurdly sharp edge of Crescent Rose firmly pressed against the skin of Emerald's neck was a very serious warning to have her desist at once… but then the thief thought on another way around.

"Ruby, do you seriously think he will settle down with just you? I mean, you are very cute, and no doubt delicious, but he wields more strength than a single woman can receive; I think that with our combined efforts, we can keep him tame, and well cared for." Emerald explained while slowly turning toward Ruby, and when the petite girl looked taken by surprise, she descended from the bed, and hugged the red caped girl.

"Just give it some thought, ok? I'm sure he will be truly grateful if he awakes with two warm bodies clinging to him." Emerald continued, thinking that Ruby's red face was a sign of victory.

"Just… leave." Ruby finally said, and Emerald parted away not without giving her a small kiss on the cheek; after the thief left the room, Ruby tried her best to scratch away the horrible sensation of the thief's lips on her cheek.

"Now I feel filthy…" Kanetsugu commented when he felt it was safe to talk; he had been awake the whole time, and had to fight the urge to end the thief's life for the sake of Ruby.

"We need to have a long bath, soon." Ruby replied, not noticing that she had made Kanetsugu blush at the wording, as she had innocently implied that they will take the bath together.

At the gardens…

Winter had been delighted to find that her little sister had been well cared, and very loved; it was very hard to see any of the Schnee traits in her persona, and instead a wise and charismatic lady was showing up, that she had gone the extra mile to enrage their father only strengthened her belief that this was the little sister she preferred… she still was sore for the pregnancy joke though.

"… and then he cancelled my credit card!" Weiss finished her tale with a pleasant smile, showing to the world that she no longer depended on her father… even if that meant she now depended on her boyfriend.

"What else did you expect to happen? You basically took his money and expended it in what he hates the most! Still, when are you marrying your boyfriend?" Winter asked as a way of teasing while taking a sip of her tea, which she had to admit tasted very good.

"Next year, as soon as Kanetsugu's religion is fully integrated into the system." Weiss replied with a neutrality that was mind-blowing, which of course made Winter spit her tea in shock.

"I take it you spat the tea out of surprise and not because you found it revolting?" Mitsuhide's question had Winter babbling an apology, failing to notice the sarcasm; he knew very well that she was being played by Weiss, and that the tea was as well made as watching Ranmaru preparing it a thousand times can teach… he would never admit the last part though.

"Anyway… have you been practicing your summoning?" Winter asked in hopes of returning to safe terrain, she really didn't want to hear that her little sister was made a woman at a younger age than her.

"No, not really. I've been a little too busy honing the skills I can perform, while leaving the things I fail at for… a more peaceful time." Weiss answered, although her words and body language betrayed how much informed she was… which apparently was far more informed than Winter herself.

"That won't do. You may be planning to stop being a Schnee by name, but our blood will always carry our gift, our semblance; now, let's practice." Winter said with a fierce gaze, which apparently did nothing to instill fear or awe in the white pair.

At team RWBY's room…

Qrow watched his niece playing videogames with her boyfriend, wishing to be able to laugh at Taiyang's confusion about the boy's gender, he watched them being not only at ease with each other, but being in true love with each other, loving not only the good, but the bad too; he could tell with all honesty that they were a match mead in… hell…

"So… how are you holding up, Yang?" Qrow asked, trying to be as jovial as possible, while not being able to ignore that for him, the two of them were still drenched in blood.

"Pretty fine, actually; I can't believe my cutiepie is this good at videogames though." Yang replied as if oblivious of her uncle's intention.

"Yang…" Qrow's voice finally snapped, forcing the youngsters to turn off their game, and pay attention to the adult.

"She is doing fine; there is no chance for her instincts to come out, just as there is no chance for mine to overtake me." Ranmaru answered for both, not fearing to be branded as a blood lusting monster.

"How? Even I can see the blood calling at you two; by now you should be looking for the minimal excuse to…" Qrow tried to elaborate, throwing away all pretenses; he was well aware of the problem with his family, and had no doubts that there had to be others out there with the same problem, as the cute boy proved.

"My cutiepie showed me how to do it, he is the best!" Yang replied in a way that looked like her old self, like the young child she once was, as if she had yet to taste blood for the first time.

"Admittedly my lord had a little more trouble controlling me, but that is what allowed me to show my beloved how to reign on her instincts, and hone her skills; she is fierier than me, though." Ranmaru added, being not too shy about how much he loved Yang; said blond bombshell gave a playful rawr as she hugged him.

"You make it sound easy… Yang, your mother could have used this training of yours a long time ago; maybe I could arrange a family reunion?" Qrow tried to return to a cheerful talk, still wondering if it was too late to help his sister, and Taiyang.

"Yeah sure, why not?" Yang replied with a smile.

"We could make use of a new decoration piece." Ranmaru added with a cute smile of his own; Qrow didn't need a translator to understand that they had very violent intentions toward his sister, and for the life of him, he couldn't fault them.

Back at the garden…

Winter had watched her little sister try as hard as she could to bring forth her summon, with no success whatsoever; it surprised her though, how Weiss was taking her failures with a maturity hat was no trait of the family, and how her boyfriend watched with interest, but without interrupting, it was an interesting dynamic.

"It's not working…" Weiss finally said, her frown was expected, but not her calmness.

"You must keep trying, you need to push yourself or you'll never better yourself. Call upon your fallen foes, and feel how they come to your aid." Winter offered her advice, ready to push her sister a little more if that helps her to keep moving forward.

"That is more difficult than you make it sound." Weiss replied, although getting ready to keep trying; it was then that Winter noticed Mitsuhide moving, going near Weiss.

"Perhaps your path is different from that of your sister? Why don't you try to call upon those who belong in your heart? Why don't remember the strength that their feelings can give you?" Mitsuhide's advice sounded like empty words to Winter, but she remained quiet, if Weiss succeeded or not, it will be due to her own strength and skill, and no some stranger's wording; Weiss smiled radiantly, and then dropped Mirtenaster.

"Giving up already?" Winter asked in a disappointed voice, thinking that her sister was truly going to depend on others… then she saw Weiss raising her hands, and the summoning circle appearing, but not as it did a moment ago, but like a much more complex inscription with Edo symbols.

"What in Oum's name?!" Winter nearly shouted at what she was seeing; from the center of the circle a human figure emerged, pure white, but with such a detailed set of features that made it impossible to believe this was her first summon, before them, another Mitsuhide had appeared, down to his most fine details, but with added angelic wings at his back.

"I DID IT!" Weiss devolved into a happy little girl, jumping into her boyfriend's arms, and spinning around with glee; Winter kept watching the summon, silently wondering what meaning the wings had, and how powerful it will prove in battle. The summoned figure watched Winter, not with interest, but gauging her as a foe; Winter had it quite clear though, the summon will use his own sword to full effect should Weiss faced danger of any kind, and now she doubted that there would be any more surprises today.

Later that night…

"Is this some kind of joke?" Winter asked to no one in particular as she took turns to take a look at the number of the room assigned to her, and the man standing by that door.

"I… certainly hope it is. Do you want to come in while you call your boss?" Qrow asked as he watched the woman, who looked in serious need of a drink right now.

"Sure… why not?" Winter replied in defeat, knowing that trying to reach the General at this hour was near impossible. Neither of them had trouble imagining a certain headmaster laughing at their predicament…

* * *

 **Magnus:** Next chapter will have more action... and I mean battles.


	37. Off Balance

**Magnus:** Sorry for the long delay, but my PC died and I had no money to repair it, much less to buy a new one.

 **Disclaimer:** Now I can't guarantee a quick update, sorry.

* * *

 **Chapter 37**

 **Off Balance**

Cinder seethed as she watched the battles come and go, the double rounds had begun as expected, and the roster had been as selected, but the peace had not been to her liking…

" **And there goes another victory for Miss Nikos and Mr Arc! Teamwork had them carry on like an unstoppable force!"** Professor Port called the end of the match, signaling that Cinder's plans were still going well; the duo not only saluted at the audience, but shared a quick kiss before everyone, a clear announcement that they were not going to be swayed away from each other.

The double rounds were meant to be held through several days, part of this due to the selected pairs being well balanced against each other, and the sponsoring companies having time between battles to show off their products; that went out of the window when it was made known that most of the sponsors found difficulties when traveling to Vale… Cinder didn't need to ask to understand that Adam had a hand on this.

"I'm going to kill that bull when we are done…" Cinder muttered to herself as she watched her lackeys being called down to the arena, berating only herself for not having a way to control Adam from acting so stupidly.

" **And now, we have Mercury and Emerald from team CMNE versus Coco and Yatsuhashi from team CFVY!"** Dr. Oobleck announced with great enthusiasm, making cheers erupting around the stadium in an increasing fashion; Cinder smiled at this, for her plan was still going at an acceptable pace, if only by a small margin.

Down in the arena, both pairs went face to face, sporting friendly smiles, and giving the most appropriate vibe for the encounter… except for Yatsuhashi, who simply looked serious and focused.

"Hey! Nice outfit!" Coco said as a greeting, making the thief chuckle.

"I like yours too; it's so fashionable. I'll try not to ruin it." Emerald replied with a smile, getting her weapons ready as its customary.

"I like this girl!" Coco said to Yatsuhashi, who limited himself to just getting his blade ready.

It was then that professor Port began the countdown to start the fight, and Coco and Yatsuhashi noticed how the other pair walked backwards toward the high grass spawned by the stadium; Coco patiently waited until the end of the countdown to start her minigun, and then she began to mow down the grass.

"She waited too long." Nobunaga somberly stated; he was aware of what the enemy wanted to win with this fight, but he wouldn't deny that he wanted these two foes being destroyed by the members of team CVFY, then again, the level of thinking was clear from the beginning, Coco wanted to win and show off, while her enemies were consummated murderers.

"Well… she is not hell bent on killing them." Blake supplied the more plausible reason for the action taken; she had stopped to think on punishing the enemies with a jail sentence, long ago.

"I guess that means we are getting our red paint after all!" Yang added with gusto; her smile was perverted, although in a most disturbing meaning.

"Yang; I love the way you think." Ranmaru said as he hugged her, quickly sharing a small kiss; above them, Velvet managed to hear some of their words, and couldn't help but to agree.

In the battlefield below, Coco and her partner began to get wary as the missing grass revealed that their opponents had gone into hiding, forcing them to think on another plan of action; suddenly they saw Mercury jump out of hiding and run toward them, to which Coco began to start her weapon, while Yatsuhashi readied his blade in a defensive stance.

"What the?!" Coco shouted as she watched Mercury made a turn to start circling them just before the minigun started to fire; Coco did her best to try to follow him with the rain of bullets as he circled and closed to them, while Yatsuhashi had to move to stand behind his team leader to prevent friendly fire.

"Coco! Stop it!" Yatsuhashi ordered for the first time, knowing that it was futile to try to keep up with their opponent, but Coco didn't listen to him, favoring the idea of finally catching up to the target; soon Mercury closed the gap, jumping between them to deliver a series of spinning kicks between the two.

"Leave her alone!" Yatsuhashi shouted when he noticed how strongly Mercury was punishing his leader, who had begun to activate her minigun again in hopes of scaring their opponent away.

"I can't; she is a hottie!" Mercury playfully replied while he spun around and kicked the now firing minigun his way; many spectators recoiled when they saw the barrier before them activating, stopping the rain of bullets that would have hit them, then Coco recoiled in horror as the rotating canons briefly pointed toward her teammate, which forced her to let go of the trigger and almost drop her weapon.

"Yatsu! Sorry!" Coco said in distress, for her greatest fear was that of hurting her teammates with her weapon, reason why they had developed such a well planned strategy when fighting as a team, leaving her line of sight clear of allies, while they defended her back and flanks.

"Don't worry, let's focus on…" Yatsuhashi couldn't finish his words when he was victim of a savage drop kick to the side of his head, courtesy of a very amused Mercury.

"Yatsu!" Coco shouted as she began to activate her minigun yet again, this time however, she was interrupted by the sensation of being pulled back; she had almost forgotten about their other opponent, and that had her not expecting being pulled by a chain toward the forest spawned by the stadium.

"Coco!" Yatsuhashi shouted as he watched his team leader being pulled away from him; he couldn't do anything about it too, because he was immediately assaulted by Mercury.

The spectators were presented a scene of a devolving battle, where the favorites were quickly put down without a proper spectacle, leaving a very unsatisfied public, and very sore fans of the fashionable leader; Nobunaga watched everything with interest, musing about the meaning of this choice of move, then he noticed what many not. The stadium was being quickly filled with negative emotions; hatred, anger and dark thoughts of vengeance were gathering at an alarming peace, forming a focal point that no doubt would lure any Grimm within a large radius… if properly detonated.

"We need to counteract this negativity… or at least mitigate it." Nobunaga declared, taking everyone by surprise.

"My lord?" Ranmaru asked in everyone's behalf, expecting the following orders.

"Weiss, Yang; your fight is next, and you need to put a good show that can uplift the public." Nobunaga ordered, gaining the attention of the two members of team RWBY.

"So, fight with grace and honor." Weiss replied with a grin, knowing that such order meant showing off.

"With a slice of flashy violence!" Yang added while slamming her fists together, her savage grin was on an equal level as Ranmaru's deviant smile, showing how much she had embraced her new approach to life.

Cinder watched with curiosity as both pairs reached the arena; according to Emerald, the Mistral team had been "convinced" to use taunts to break the members of team RWBY for an easier victory, but she was mostly unconcerned. Her plans could use any of the victors of this match, as none was too bright.

"Hey! You are Weiss Schnee, right? The Heiress." Flynt Coal, a young dark skinned male with a trumpet on his hand greeted as he and his partner stood before Yang and Weiss.

"Yes, that's me, although the title of heiress…" Weiss began to reply, already knowing where this was going; Ranmaru and his sneaky gossip hunters had been frightening helpful on tracking and eavesdropping Cinder's team.

"I guess you are pretty good with dust, eh? My dad was too; owned a little dust shop of his own… until your company ran him out of business." Flynt ended in a tone that made it clear he meant to extract revenge.

"Please, send complains through the appropriate means; I hardly can get the hour from them, much less from my father." Weiss coolly replied, making Flynt see red.

"Hey, were did you get your hair extensions?" Neon Katt, a cat faunus girl in rolling skates and wearing a rather daring outfit asked to a mildly confused Yang.

"Well, this is just my natural hair." Yang replied, wondering where the taunt was.

"Sure…" Neon's sarcastic response had Yang raising an eyebrow, but it was far from getting her triggered.

"Do you have a…" Yang began to try and follow up the cat faunus, hoping to get the taunt out already, but got interrupted.

"You should try roller skates, it's so much fun! Although it'll take you a lot of time to get used to it, especially with you being so… top heavy." Neon finished with devilish smile, making obvious that she had delivered her taunt.

"Why would I want to use those? My feet are better on solid ground! Oh, and just to let you know, my cutiepie loves these fun pillows." Yang replied with a suggestive eyebrow wiggling, making the cat faunus blush in both embarrassment and anger.

" **And now, we have Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long from Team RWBY vs Flynt Coal and Neon Katt from Team FNKY. Three, two, one, begin!"** Oobleck's voice sounded as the arena finished changing, including a volcanic area and a ruined urban zone.

The battle started with a surprise attack from Flynt, who blew up on his trumpet to create a massive set of sound waves, geared to both surprise and stagger the two girls in front of him, while also carried his teammate to give her an extra push; their plan was simple, divide and conquer, and thanks to the mint haired girl, they knew how to divide the girls. Flynt was supposed to take on the heiress, overwhelming her with his massive attacks, while Neon was tasked to wear down the brute… but it didn't work as intended.

"You'll need more than that." Weiss said in a calm voice while making a thick wall of ice appear in front of her and Yang, shielding them from Flynt's attack, and forcing Neon to divert her path.

"Awesome! Do you mind if I punch the Jazz-boy for a little while? I really don't like when people can't stop seeing you as a Schnee." Yang said to her partner as her eyes turned red, and her hair gained a fiery appearance.

"Be my guest. Meanwhile I have to have a talk with miss Neon over there; trying to downplay the beauty of my friend is not something I'm going to take lightly." Weiss replied while moving to engage the rolling faunus.

Cinder watched with no little dread the fight below; while she had plans for Weiss and Yang if they managed to win, their level of cooperation and understanding was not to her liking. Nobunaga also watched the fight, while taking turns to watch his real opponent; so far, the girls were doing a great job at controlling the fight, while not giving away just how powerful they really were, and Cinder seemed ready to explode with just this much… it was extremely delightful.

"You won't be able to outsp… GHA!" Neon shouted as she fell, courtesy of a glyph in the ground; she was seething already, unable to take on the ice princess being able to keep up with her by mere use of her semblance, seemingly gliding around without the slight effort.

"I don't need to do so; I just need to control the very ground you intend to use. Seriously, roller skates? Those things are going to be the cause of your demise if you don't learn to move without them." Weiss lectured as she moved as if skating on ice, moving around at a pleasant pace, and not at top speed.

"Says the pampered rich girl who skates on ice…" Neon replied as she stood up, ready to escape and win some more speed to finally assault the hated heiress.

"Oh, well, it's different; for starters, I don't depend on the ground to move like this, but if it pleases you, I'll stop and fight you on steady ground." Weiss answered while deactivating the glyph at her feet, adopting a serious posture with Mirtenaster; Neon used this to try to get some distance for her style… just to be flung into the air by a glyph below her.

"Must be nice to be paid to be her friend, eh? Do you have to share your boys with her too for a fair price?" Flynt kept taunting Yang as she approached him; his taunts died on his throat as he evaded a punch, and saw the sheer destruction it caused on the volcanic rock behind him.

"You shouldn't talk without knowing; you shouldn't judge without understanding. Paid to be her friend? No. She is my friend because we see eye to eye; I walk a path that is not the one set for me, and she is ready to be disowned by her father because she is supporting a real good cause. You are only lashing against the first thing you see before you, uncaring about the consequences… come to think of it, you are more like her father than her." Yang explained as she got into a fighting stance, making Flynt hurt far more than the punch could have done to him.

"That doesn't change anything!" Flynt shouted as he blew on his trumpet once more, hitting Yang full force, but barely doing anything.

"IS THAT ALL YOU CAN DO? BEING NOISY?!" Yang shouted back as she charged through the attack, and managed to punch her opponent in the gut, sending him flying a few feet away.

At the room where Kanetsugu and Ruby were, Qrow and Winter kept watching the match through the monitor, making use of their time spent on "guarding" their target to watch over their family; they have been floored by the display of prowess of the girls in the fight… but not because they looked strong and skilled.

"Why is she holding back?!" Both Qrow and Winter asked at the same time, unable to contain their curiosity any longer. Qrow knew that with such taunts, his niece would have gone berserk within the first seconds, yet she seemed to be in complete control, even if her tremendous strength seemed to indicate otherwise; Winter had seen her sister discover a new power, just as she had shown a previously unseen control over her semblance, yet she was fighting not unlike before leaving the comfort of the manor… if only smarter.

"Because Nobunaga convinced us to not show our best, at least until the Abyss shows up." Ruby answered while inscribing kanji on each of the bullets she was going to use; Kanetsugu at her side was making more paper charms, making the adults wonder which was more dangerous.

"I'm afraid it is the best path to take, even if I still want to stand before our enemies, and crush them where they stand." Kanetsugu added, getting a soft pat on his back courtesy of a sad smiling Ruby; Qrow seemed to be bothered, as his innocent niece seemed to agree with the idea of crushing someone.

"It seems like a smart way to fight." Winter added, earning a small glare from her roommate.

"So, kiddo, where do you stand in the power level?" Qrow asked to his niece, yet he wouldn't mind to get an answer from the priest; Ruby just looked at him with her beautiful silver eyes, as if gauging his intent.

"I'm… fast enough." Ruby simply replied, while handing a small ring to him.

"What is… this?" Qrow's eyes quickly began to show horror as he noticed that it was his ring, the one he just caressed a second ago.

"What is it, Qrow?" Winter asked, confused at the antics of the rogue.

"I had this on my finger not a second ago." Qrow deadpanned, and then turned to look at Ruby with a questioning stare, to which Ruby just rolled her eyes.

"I did it… the exact same way you've done it. I stood up, walked up to you, held your hand, and took the ring from your finger; I just did it faster that you could do it." Ruby replied while giving a cute smile that gave away how much fun she was having at beating her hero of an uncle.

Both adults decided to save questions for later, especially because Kanetsugu was giving them a warning glare; deciding that paying attention to the other members of their families, they turned to keep watching the battle.

" **And that is what it means to trample the opposition!"** Professor Port said with enthusiasm as Flynt hit the ground yet again, failing to even slow down the blond bombshell with his weapon.

"Hey, tell you what! Jump off the arena now, and save yourself a painful defeat!" Yang mocked as she kept approaching the dark skinned atlesian; it was taking a little bit of effort to keep herself under control, but she managed, as Cinder kept looking at her like a barbarian, ignoring how easily her head will come off once she have her in her hands.

" **And let's not forget that having high mobility may be rewarding, but highly dangerous if your opponent controls the very ground you need."** Oobleck added his thoughts as Neon sailed yet again up into the air when she tried to skate away, failing to notice the glyphs that appeared under her every time.

"You seriously need to learn to watch where you step…" Weiss admonished her opponent as she resisted the urge to groan; she had expected a little bit of a challenge when she learned that her opponent was considered one of the fastest speedsters of Atlas, just to find that the challenging part was to ensure that said opponent didn't hurt herself too badly while being used as target practice.

"THIS IS NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR AT ALL!" Neon screamed as she began to bounce between glyphs that appeared in the air around her, unable to think in a way to get herself out of this mess.

"You… You asked for this!" Flynt shouted as he stood up and multiplied himself, revealing several copies, making Yang pause briefly to watch his moves.

"Illusions?" Yang asked aloud, hoping to make the guy talk and reveal himself; Flynt simply blew on his trumpet harder than ever, hitting Yang with several attacks at the same time… yet she stood her ground, and kept advancing, even if at a slower pace.

"LET ME GO!" Neon helplessly shouted as she kept bouncing all over the air, already feeling sick and humiliated.

"Gladly." Weiss dryly replied as she made a final glyph that sent the skater out of the arena.

" **And with that, Neon Katt is out of the competition!"** Oobleck reported, making many cheer at the great display of power from the only beloved Schnee of Vale; in her seat, Cinder noted with a smile how the heiress used her weapon to direct her semblance, believing that once disarmed, the heiress would become much less a threat, and more a usable hostage.

Meanwhile, Flynt watched in horror how the blond bombshell walked through the onslaught, sporting a rather evil smile, and no sign of being hurt; Yang then stopped when she was at a few steps away from the atlesian young man, and spread her arms to the sides for a moment, just to bring her palms together at full force, this produced a shockwave that destroyed Flynt's weapon, dispelled his clones, and sent him against a rocky wall, knocking him instantly.

" **And he is going to feel that in the morning!"** Port happily commented as the buzz indicated that the last of the atlesian team was out; cheers began to fill the stadium, seriously mitigating what Mercury and Emerald had achieved. Cinder growled as she watched the events unfold; her plans were getting more setbacks with each passing minute, and the idea of displeasing her master was not welcome at all.

"Come, Ranmaru; it is time for us to give the people something entertaining." Nobunaga said with a rather sinister smile, knowing that to ensure the success of his plan, he needed to make the enemy look where he wanted, and see what he wanted.

"Emerald, Mercury; I need you two keep a close watch on the next combat, I want these two Edo guys well studied." Cinder ordered through her scroll.

" _What about the champion?"_ Mercury asked back, for it was his intention to ensure the participation of the champion in the next round.

"Leave it to the mute." Cinder dryly replied.

" _What about the priest?"_ Emerald asked now, sounding extremely reticent about stopping what she was doing.

"The two of you will be here now, or you'll be disposed of." Cinder answered with an absurd amount of hatred, no doubt a consequence of Emerald acting like a worried girl in love.

" _Understood"_ Both of her lackeys replied in fear, knowing very well that she was not joking… little they knew that Cinder had not enough power to be as dangerous as she made them think.

Meanwhile…

Pyrrha boarded the elevator to reach the headmaster's office, wondering why the sudden call, and how could it affect her scheduled time with her boyfriend; the fast approach to the battles of the tournament had been quite stressful, leaving little to no time to rest and enjoy some quality time at the fairgrounds, the fact that Ren and Nora had literally disappeared since the last time they were required didn't help, as she knew that these two were most likely acting like newlyweds at some secluded place… probably their own dorm room.

"Only a little more; and after winning the tournament…" Pyrrha muttered as she imagined the dance at the end, the fireworks to watch, and even entertained the idea of spiking Jaune's drink so they can have some extra fun behind closed doors… then the doors of the elevator opened.

"Miss Nikos, thank you for coming at such short notice." Ozpin greeted the champion as she entered the office.

"Headmaster… General?" Pyrrha greeted back as she saw who else was in the room; the General of the atlesian army and Penny gave a small bow to her, confusing the champion greatly.

"Please, take a seat, we all have to talk." Ironwood offered, although it was Penny's serious expression what scared her most.

Back at the arena…

Cinder was speechless, just as her cronies; the battle between Nobunaga and Ranmaru against their now remark-less opponents had ended relatively fast, with lots of flourishes and acrobatic maneuvers, but catch was that Nobunaga himself had done nothing but to remain static in the middle of the battlefield, letting the cool beauty do all the work… with her weapon sheathed.

"Should we start worrying now?" Emerald asked as she could not understand on which level this Ranmaru was, fearing what she could do if her blade ever got freed.

"I don't want to face her alone…" Mercury said as he shielded his family jewels, still remembering how vicious she was.

"I don't like this…" Cinder said as she began to text Adam, she needed to make sure that the bull faunus was quickly aimed at this foe, so even if he failed, she could easily deal with a weakened enemy.

"Cinder, you think she is the most dangerous?" Emerald asked to her leader, wondering which kind of trap they could use against such a fighter.

"Are you blind? She may be strong, but the Oda guy… he knew he had no need to move, and if he is selected as the one representing his team in the finals, it would mean he is even more dangerous." Cinder explained, making the two youngsters go silent.

" **And it's over! Nobunaga and Ranmaru sweep the floor with the opposition!"** Port shouted in joy as the local favorite won without problems, earning cheers from the spectators… although Ranmaru resented the male shouts declaring their love.

[Look, my friend; our enemy can't look away from where we want their eyes, they can't hear other thing that what we want, and now, they are running ahead to do our bidding.] Nobunaga said in Japanese as he and Ranmaru waved at the audience, giving the impression of basking in the glory of the victory.

[Oh, my lord; I can't wait for the moment when you'll unleash my blade on them, when I can finally paint your glorious name on the walls of the tower with their blood!] Ranmaru replied, smiling at the image formed in his mind.

In their seats, Blake and Yang sighed at the scene, clearly understanding the words of their boyfriends, while Weiss rolled her eyes in annoyance; they meant well, but the ice princess was not keen on the level of violence they wanted to unleash… then again, the alternative was far worse, meaning that she was forced to help the least of the evils.

Secret vault, under Beacon Tower…

Pyrrha watched in awe and horror at the capsule pod before her, where a young woman in undergarments was resting, unconscious, as in a coma; she had been informed of very disturbing things… the existence of the seasonal maidens, on the sinister menace that was looming over everyone, and to top it all, the current need to replace the Autumn Maiden.

"But, why telling me… us, all of this?" Pyrrha asked, recognizing Penny as similarly involved in all of this.

"You wouldn't mean to tell us that… one of us…" Penny seemed to hesitate to finish what she wanted to ask, making Pyrrha grimace at the idea; as high as it was the honor of being the next Maiden, so it was the responsibility, and she doubted that keeping Jaune as her squire would be allowed.

"Both of you have shown all the traits to ensure the best use of the seasonal powers: honor, compassion, strength, wisdom and willpower; but only one can inherit this mantle, it it isn't without consequences. General, if you would." Ozpin answered while directing the attention to Ironwood.

"The Autumn Maiden suffered an attack that left a wound on her aura, so she cannot willingly give away the mantle she holds; in order for this to be achieved, and prevent her powers from being stolen, this machine will extract her soul, and transfer it to the next body. It is unclear what will happen to the new host; her personality could be a combination or both, or even be overridden by Maiden." Ironwood explained, earning gasps of horror from both girls; Pyrrha truly wanted to run away, to tackle Jaune to the ground, and beg him to return to the village and become the Duke and Duchess of the region.

"We understand that this is way too much to ask from both of you; we are not forcing you, but we need to hear your choice. Will you help us against the Abyss? Will any of you carry the mantle of the Autumn Maiden and be the light that shines against the darkness?" Glynda asked with urgency, letting they understand that if none of them were to take the step, everything they love may come to an end… sooner, rather than later.

"I… I…" Pyrrha tried to say something, anything, but her voice betrayed her, and in her eyes everyone could see the fear of losing everything… she had no need to answer though.

"I'll do it." Penny said with what sounded like resignation, and maybe a little bit of determination.

"You'll do it?" Everyone asked at the same time, some with surprise, but Pyrrha sounded as if ashamed of herself.

"I had a sheltered life, seeing this world behind a protective glass, but in the short time I have been allowed to interact with it, I've come to love this world. I've made friends, and even got a boyfriend, but I've only enjoyed them for a very short time, so I can say good bye to them a little easier than Pyrrha… also, papa always said I was born to save the world, maybe he meant something like this." Penny explained, giving her best smile.

"I…" Pyrrha tried to say something, just to fail while fighting the tears forming on her eyes.

"Miss Nikos, nobody is judging you, because there is nothing to judge; go back to your team, prepare for the finals, and please, do not tell anyone about what transpired here." Glynda said with a caring voice, obviously urging the distraught champion to leave.

"I… I understand; I won't tell anyone. Penny, thank you and… thank you." Pyrrha managed to give a poor speech before heading back to the elevator, leaving behind the quirky girl that at this moment looked like a hero of legend in her eyes.

Everyone in the vault took a moment to watch the champion reach the elevator, walking like drunk, or someone whose head had been hit way too many times with a club; once they were sure that she was going up, they relaxed.

"Well, how did I do it?" Penny asked with her usual cheerfulness, knowing that Cinder will lose time and sleep trying to figure which one of the two was selected for the inheritance.

"Incredibly well, for a doll." A female figure said while coming from behind one of the pillars, she moved with difficulty, and was covering herself with a mantle, making easy to see that she was having trouble to warm herself.

"Amber, please; her body may not be flesh and bones, but she is very alive." Ozpin chastised the young woman, who looked at him with a not so gentle stare.

"I know, I know; I'm just getting used to all of this. I've never expected Atlas to finally figure how to… turn us into…" Amber decided not to finish what she was saying, out of respect to Penny, who seemed to be important for the one who saved her.

"My Lady; It had never been my or my country's intention to…" Ironwood tried to placate the Maiden, who seemed to try to glare daggers at him.

"Whatever. Where is my… I mean, the young man who saved me, the wielder of the infinite light?" Amber asked after cutting the general, tripping on her words, and rising eyebrows from the adults.

"Kanetsugu is still with Ruby and their two guardians… I still don't understand why these two are needed; I'm pretty sure that my two best friends would much happier being left alone." Penny replied, making Glynda blush at the not so hidden meaning of her wording.

"Neither I can imagine something he couldn't handle, alas, I have need of him; please, tell him that I want to spend some time in his light, I will need some of his strength in the confrontation with the witch." Amber spoke with a softened voice, earning a questioning stare from the headmaster and the general, but a knowing smile from the combat instructor.

"Of course, I'll tell them to come and visit you as soon as possible; you'll love Ruby, she is starting to shine like him!" Penny's declaration earned even more confused stares, as if the adults had been left out of the conversation entirely.

"Ah, I see; I'm sure I'll love to meet her then." Amber replied with a far away voice, but her features seemed serene.

In their room, Kanetsugu had sneezed, and earned a lovely hug from his girlfriend; both were trying to ignore the "adults" in the room, who for some obscure reason had begun to argue about sleeping accommodations, and why they needed to set a better schedule for the bathroom… the youngsters truly wanted the adults to make up already, so they can earn a little bit of peace for themselves.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Please don't drop this story just for the delays, I'm assuring you that I will complete it, happy gory ending included.


	38. Prelude to an End

**Magnus:** Sorry for the long wait, but now we are getting into the final arc of the story, soon it will end, and with that, the lives of Cinder and her goons.

 **Disclaimer:** Did someone else screamed in delight when chibi-Penny appeared on screen? I can't be the only one, right?

* * *

 **Chapter 38**

 **Prelude to an End**

The final rounds had finally begun, much to Cinder's distress; from her seat she was able to see each and every one of the selected fighters, all of them the ones she had selected, but with such a critical period of time, and with no more delays, she knew that using the first match was key to get the time and reinforcements she needed so desperately.

" **And now, the final part of the tournament will begin!"** Professor Port filled the stadium with his voice, calling everyone to attention, then Oobleck began to explain the rules for the final set of matches; in the platform, Nobunaga and Yang exchanged glances, nodding to each other in clear understanding.

They knew what will happen, how the matches will roll, but they only had half of the picture, for Cinder was reticent to share all the details with her minions, especially Neo; they had to hold a meeting before the start of the last round, so they could deal with any possibilities without alerting the enemy.

" _Yang, your opponent will be the legless murderer and no doubt this is meant to take advantage of your weaknesses; you are free to deal with him in whatever fashion you like, just remember, after the fight is over, you are not permitted any more violence… no matter what happens."_ Nobunaga's orders were met with a large and savage smile, for Yang had no intention of leaving enough of Mercury to worry about any future encounters.

" **Now that the randomizer has finished, leave the arena to the two selected for the match!"** Port called now that the screen showed the faces of both Yang and Mercury, making everyone else leave the platform; on their way out, Pyrrha kept stealing glances toward Penny, who looked as if uncaring of the enormous weight placed on her rather tiny shoulders.

"Hey! We finally get the chance to know each other up close!" Mercury cheekily said, hoping to strike a nerve on whom he assumed was lesbian.

"The only thing you'll be able to feel are my fists, chibi." Yang coolly replied, giggling at Mercury's face of confusion at the edo word; then both took their stances, but where Mercury looked serious and focused, Yang looked like a well trained beast of war, barely containing herself before unleashing her fury, all while sporting a wide and wild smile.

" **Begin!"** Oobleck called the match to start, and Mercury decided to go into the offensive; his orders were simple, he only had to deal with the bimbo in any way he wanted, either humiliating her, or losing to her, the match and outcome didn't mattered, just getting it over with, so Emerald could work her magic and have everything go wrong… then everything went wrong.

"ORA!" Yang shouted as she punched Mercury in the face, with enough strength to have him perform a couple of flips before finally meeting the floor.

"UGH!" Mercury grunted as he kissed the ground, surprised more at the speed and precision than at the force applied by the barbarian of a girl.

" **And that got to hurt!"** Port commented as the public was awed at the sudden show of skill; in their seats, Cinder and Emerald looked puzzled at the turn of events, not knowing if the blond bimbo suddenly got stronger, of if she had been holding back the whole time.

"Ok… off with the kiddie gloves then." Mercury stated as he charged with the intention of destroying the blond bombshell, reaching her with a flying kick with a round ready to fire upon impact… but it never connected.

"HA! You are slower than my sister!" Yang commented with a snort as she evaded inside the move, aiming her elbow to his crotch, and allowing his own momentum to make the job for her.

"AAARRGGGGHH!" Mercury screamed all the way down to the ground, and then rolled on the floor in a vain attempt to lessen the pain he was feeling.

" **Now that is going to leave its mark with him!"** Oobleck said with a chuckle, earning more laughs than groans of pain from the spectators. Cinder felt that this fight was not right; she knew that yang was absurdly strong, but she was showing skill that was not fit for her upbringing and philosophy.

"Now I'm going to make you suffer, bitch!" Mercury nearly shouted as he began to compose himself, but then he found that he couldn't move his left leg; taking a look at it, he discovered that Yang had decided that waiting for him to recover wouldn't do, and had grabbed it while smiling like a mad woman… had he paid closer attention, he would have noticed that her eyes were glowing red.

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Yang began to laugh as she used Mercury's body like a flail to hit the ground, several times, and leaving small craters with each hit; Mercury's body hit the floor in such an angle that the damage to his aura was not that great, but he was in no position to free himself from her grasp, and the numerous hits to the head had made him see stars, leaving him with not enough focus to retaliate.

The crowd began to flinch with each consecutive slam, wincing at the display of violence, but where everyone was deciding if to cheer or not, Cinder was smiling, after all, this too was perfectly fine for her plans.

"Are you ready?" Cinder asked to her companion, who nodded with a scary smile, obviously relishing the opportunity given, then the buzzing sound alerted them that the fight was over, making then focus on the blond bombshell who was encouraging the spectators to cheer for her victory.

" **WHAT A SMASHING VICTORY!"** Port cheered, making the crowd explode with praises about Yang's display of power. Yang was enjoying the feeling, and the sense of liberation that was washing over her; it had nothing to do with winning or the cheering crowd, it was the knowledge that she had gained a degree of control over her own self what had her celebrating; the blood had called out to her, to finish the murderer off, to smash his skull and spray his brain all over the stadium, but she had defeated it with obedience, and had finally defeated her own mother… then she felt movement behind her.

"I'm not done with you." Mercury said as he got up, looking like a vengeful madman.

"The fight is over, fuck off!" Yang replied while not losing sight of his movements, her instincts were kicking full force, and she felt that spilling blood was going to become a matter of survival and not pleasure.

"I'll take on your girlfriend after I'm done fucking you!" Mercury shouted as he launched his kick; he was moving with such speed and precision that Yang had no doubts about his intentions, but her body was ready, and so began to respond accordingly, raising her arm to deliver a most brutal swing that should he survive it, he would be left with a torn body… but then…

"… _after the fight is over, you are not permitted any more violence…"_ Nobunaga's orders were clear, and if she didn't want her mother to win, she will have to obey; time slowed down to a crawl as she fought her instincts, and she ended up closing her eyes in waiting for a blow… which never happened.

"What the?!" Yang muttered as she opened her eyes, just to find Mercury still standing, but not attacking, then she found that she was no longer on the spot she was standing before, but closer to the murderer… with her fist still ready to deliver the punch.

Murmurs began to run through the spectators, and Cinder began to shift on her seat as teams RWBY and NKRA started to act as if ready to jump into the arena; Emerald could only shrink in fear as she noticed that her trick hadn't work in the first attempt, so before she could be scolded, she tried again.

"What is happening?" Yang muttered once more as she took steps away from Mercury, who looked just as confused as her, the she saw him smile, and launch his high kick again; Yang simply closed her eyes with all her might, willing her arms to remain down, and when she opened her eyes, she had closed the distance yet again, with her fist ready to attack.

"No!" Yang barely managed to not shout, not knowing if the mirage thief had a hand on this, or if her blood was finally able to influence her; what she saw next made her panic, for instead of an attack, Mercury was now reaching to grab her breasts, that's when she decided to finally act, but not in the way that Cinder expected.

"HEAVENS! PROTECT ME!" Yang yelled as she took from a pocket one of Kanetsugu's talismans, he had insisted on everyone carrying them as a last resort in case of an ambush, and today it had payed off; a large kanji appeared beneath the blond bombshell, and a shimmering light surrounded her shielding her from pretty much everything… including the semblance that was manipulating her perception.

"AAHH!" Emerlad screamed in pain as her head shot back with copious amounts of blood coming out of her nose; Cinder had to make a split decision right there, ignore Emerald in favor of watching what the other teams were doing, or taking the thief to the infirmary and be away from the scene… she decided for the later, as having the thief in such condition would arise suspicion among the academy's staff.

Down in the arena, the only ones missing were Ruby and Kanetsugu, but this hardly made for a difference to the crowd, as atlesian soldiers joined the scene too…

"Yang!" Ranmaru shouted as he reached his beloved one, who was sitting in the floor, looking both distraught and disoriented.

"Easy boy; come with us, we only want a few questions answered, nothing more." One of the soldiers said to the murderer, who raised his hands in clear surrender; he knew that what happened to Yang couldn't be linked to him, and at most, he would spend the night in a cell while he is found innocent.

"Ok, not doing anything." Mercury replied, trying hard to not smile at the situation, and then he watched Ranmaru almost rushing at him.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MAY GIRLFRIEND?!" Ranmaru yelled with a face contorted in fury, quickly grabbing Mercury by the shirt… making a small plastic bag fall from his clothes.

"What is this?" The soldier asked to no one in particular as he lifted the item; Mercury was frozen in terror, his mind was unable to form a plausible excuse to what was a massive fuck up on his part… he had no idea why or when did he left that bag on his shirt and not his boots, but that was besides the point right now…

The soldier had gained everyone's attention as he checked the white powder, then he threw the bag away like it was in fire, and pointed his rifle toward the murderer; Mercury didn't need two guesses at what was going to happen…

"ANGEL DUST!" The soldier shouted, making all the other soldiers point their weapons at Mercury, who instantly decided that running away and leave the rest of his team to deal with the downfall was better than the alternative.

Mercury quickly leaped away from the line of fire, and jumped to gain momentum for a double kick-shot that would see him out of the arena… then he fell face first, and found that his legs no longer answered to his will.

"You are not getting away, you damned piece of… why aren't you bleeding?!" Ranmaru said as he was holding Mercury's legs with his left hand and his nodachi with his right; everyone watched the scene with open mouths and wide eyes, for even at the distance, they could clearly see that the downed student spurted sparks and cut wires instead of flesh and blood.

"AH! MY LEGS!" Mercury shouted in a vain attempt to gain any sort of mercy.

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Nobunaga said as he approached Ranmaru's side, placing a placating hand on his shoulder, so he doesn't execute the murderer right now… then the legs on Ranmaru's hand slipped from its boots, revealing a couple more bags of the highly illegal drug.

"An awful lot of explaining indeed…" Nobunaga added as he raised an eyebrow; the first bag had been masterfully planted by Ranmaru in the moment of contact, having the cooperation of the soldiers was also a key factor to ensure a proper capture of one of the enemies… getting even more dooming evidence to use was rather disturbing.

At the infirmary, a few moments later…

"You focus on recovering, I'll check on Mercury and how he is faring." Cinder said to the dizzy thief, in a rather rare and disturbing show of concern.

" **Miss Fall, please report immediately at the headmaster's office."** The intercom carried Glynda's voice with a force that put to shame even the most ferocious of the storms, making Cinder grimace at what could possibly require her presence.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Cinder muttered as she left the room, failing to notice Ruby and Kanetsugu entering it.

"Hey! We were looking for you!" Ruby greeted as she looked at Emerald, who was admittedly too ill to even pay attention, not that she would miss an opportunity when offered.

"You were?" Emerald asked while holding her nose, making her sound funny, and less suspicious.

"Well, I'm here for a checkup; Ruby was looking for you. I'll leave you too to have your girl's talk while I submit myself to the medics." Kanetsugu said with a defeated tone, earning a soft pat in the back from Ruby, and a small chuckle from Emerald; both girls watched him walk to the next room, noticing the pained limping of his form.

"So?" Emerald decided to go for short phrases, while trying to sound as friendly as possible.

"Well… you see… I've been talking with Kanetsugu, about our future… and we came to the conclusion that allowing a concubine may be for the best…" Ruby explained, with a rather cute show of hesitance; Emerald had to take a minute to digest what she was hearing, for apparently her original plan to separate this couple had finally failed… while leaving a different path open for her.

"Huh?" Emerald was unable to form a proper reply, or even ask for a clarification; the pain on her brain, coupled with the shock of such revelation left her quite vulnerable.

"Yes, well, we want to start a large clan, and with only me as his wife, that would take quite too long; sharing the duties of the temple with someone else will also be appreciated." Ruby mildly clarified, leaving the thief with a wide smile.

"So, where do I sign up?" Emerald replied with as much cheer as her pain allowed her, already planning to take the title of wife, leaving the petite girl as a concubine.

"Not that fast! We can't allow a criminal into the criminal… so…" Ruby interrupted Emerald's thoughts with a rather shocking declaration, to which she had no idea how to reply.

"Criminal?" Emerald asked out of shock and lack of brain power, making her wish to bit her tongue.

"Your teammate, Mercury… he had angel dust with him, and it seems that he used some of it on my sister." Ruby said with a rather serious frown on her face, barely making her look less cute than usual.

"HE WHAT?!" Emerald asked in response, sounding shocked and scared out of her mind; the blood coming out of her nose helped greatly to make her look as if unaware of her teammate's proclivities.

"I think she has no idea of what happened during the fight." Kanetsugu said as he re-entered the room, earning Emerald's attention.

"Huh? What happened? What did he do?" Emerald asked now, unable to see anything weird due to the pain on her head.

"Look, the cops will want to ask you a few questions; just… clear any misunderstandings, and help in seeing that bastard properly punished, so we can start talking about a life together." Ruby simply said while placing a hand on Emerald's shoulder, letting her know that she was going ot be welcomed.

"With the temple already under construction, we really need to start thinking on the together part; now let's go, we need to check your sister's condition." Kanetsugu ended while guiding Ruby outside, leaving Emerald to her thoughts; once outside, Ruby quickly cleaned her hand with a handkerchief, feeling unclean after touching the enemy… then again, she found it scary how Nobunaga's plans were coming together with such ease.

Meanwhile, at Ozpin's office…

"HE DID WHAT?!" Cinder was incensed, unable to believe what had transpired on those minutes it took her to take away Emerald from preying eyes.

"I take it you were not aware of his criminal tendencies?" Ozpin asked with his usual calmness, looking as if ready to believe in the good of all people; it was sickening, and one of the reasons Cinder wanted to kill him, and yet, she couldn't be more grateful for it.

"IF I had been made aware of his involvement in such horrible thing, I would have killed him myself before turning his worthless corpse to the police!" Cinder didn't need to act the part; while she knew of his need of the damned drug, she was ready to sell him out to the police the moment it proved to be even the slightest bother… like right now.

"As appropriate as that answer is, you must understand that until the investigation is over, you and the other two girls will be under surveillance; I hope you understand the severity of what is being at stake." Ironwood was the one to talk now; Cinder knew that things were going horrible wrong when she saw the general in the same room as the headmaster, yet she couldn't have guessed how much.

"I… I understand. Just to get a hint at how long this investigation will take… how much of the abominable stuff did he had on his person?" Cinder asked a sensible question, one that the adults in the room knew was born of self preservation, and not concern.

"Four bags." Ozpin dropped the bomb, making Cinder go pale at the implications of the investigation; there was no way for them to believe that the entire team was not implicated on the trade of drugs, let alone be aware of it!

"I…" Cinder was understandably shocked, for Mercury's stupidity had reached unimaginable levels.

"Return to your room; an escort will arrive shortly to keep an eye on you." Ironwood said as a way of dismissing the young woman before them, who simply nodded and left the office with what little grace she had left; Ozpin and Ironwood exchanged a smirk, knowing that the enemy had taken the bait, and will act as predicted… one of the minions of the Abyss was going to die, and the rest will be left weakened.

Now, out of the elevator, Cinder had to plan a way to escape this horrible situation; she had no doubt that the tournament will be delayed for the rest of the day, tomorrow too if she was lucky, but Emerald was rather vulnerable right now, and Mercury will be singing like a bird the moment his body suffers from withdrawal… then she overheard something that made her hair stand on end.

"You got permission to perform the interrogation?" Cinder managed to recognize the voice of Adam's ex, and she had no doubts she was talking about Mercury.

"I was affected as much as my beloved Yang. It is my right to tear the truth from his lips!" The other voice belonged to the edo girl, and that was worrying.

"You think you can pull it off?" Blake asked now, sounding a little bit worried, but not for the other girl.

"Don't worry; by the time I'm done with him, we'll believe every word that comes out of his mouth." Ranmaru replied with enough malice to make Cinder envious, and that is what made take the decision to visit Mercury before going after Emerald.

 **Mute; come to the medic ward ASAP and bring a nurse custome.**

Cinder typed her message and sent it away as she began to make haste for said medical ward; she never noticed how Blake and Ranmaru looked at her from around the corner, smiling like devils at her fleeting form. Maybe if she hadn't been so scared and worried, she would have noticed all the coincidences, but as she was, it was almost like the hand of an invisible god guiding her to an inevitable end.

Medical ward, non-numbered room…

Only a couple of hours had passed since he was arrested and confined to this room, chained to the bed like some rabid animal, but to Mercury, it felt like days; the first bag was enough to see him executed, but that was much better than what awaited him for carrying so much of the toxic drug, he was going to be subjected to torture to find out the entire supply line, and then publicly executed to make an example… worse still, he was beginning to feel the effects of withdrawal thanks to his frayed nerves, the cool beauty not only cut off his legs, she did so in a way that left him in perpetual pain, which was about to kick in.

"Oh no, not now!" Mercury muttered as his body began to tremble, feeling hot and cold at the same time… then he began to feel the amplified pain, but his throat seemed to be unable to give a proper scream; as he began to try to focus on anything in a vain hope to save his strength, he noticed that the door to the room opened, and two nurses entered… then he noticed who they were, and wished it was the firing squad instead.

"It seems you fucked up big time, Mercury." Cinder said with an eerie calm voice, sounding as if nothing really bad was happening, thing that was scary on its own.

"H-hey! I know I have no right to ask, b-but… do y-you have a p-pain killer with y-you?" Mercury asked, obviously stuttering due to the pain and the screams of need that his body was giving him.

"Actually, I have something much better." Cinder replied while taking from between her breasts a small plastic bag with a white powder, although just a little, by the looks of it.

"Oh! T-Thank you! I l-love you so m-much right n-now!" Mercury replied as his eyes began to follow the little bag as if his life depended on it; then he watched Cinder placing it at the side of his head, out of his reach due to the bindings.

"Don't you worry, you are going to get your fix in just a moment, but first I need to ensure that you are not going to talk; you aren't going to talk, are you? Neither to the cops, the army, or that cute girl that gained permission to interrogate you, right?" Cinder asked as she bent her body forward, showing up a little bit of cleavage.

"O-of course n-not! What c-cute girl?" Mercury asked now, half trying to see more of Cinder's goods, and tracking his drugs; Cinder frowned a little at his response, obviously not believing that Mercury would keep his mouth shut.

 **The Edo girl got permission to manhandle you.** Neo's sign failed to provide information about how happy she was about the whole situation, her unreadable smile did not help either.

"Oh! Oh-ho! I can't wait f-for her to try." Mercury tried to sound brave, but his stutter and condition gave the impression of looking forward to be seduced, and that was the last straw.

"No, dear Mercury; because I'll give you a very firm reason to not talk." Cinder said as she began to climb the bed on which he was restrained, puzzling not only Mercury, but neo too; the mute girl had truly thought that they were going to assassinate the murderer; she even had the srynge ready with the narcotics to make it look like an overdose.

"You'll see, after you are done resisting this little bitch, and any other attempts at questioning you, we'll have some babies; sounds good?" Cinder said as she positioned herself by his side, riding his arm to the point where his hand was right between her legs, and their noses almost touched; in the background, Neo raised an eyebrow at the peculiar way of persuasion that Cinder was using, she wasn't against it, is just that using it on this boy seemed like a waste.

"Oh yes! YES! It does sound good!" Mercury almost shouted while moving his hand to touch as much as he could; Cinder smiled slyly at him, not trying to move her body away from the murderer's restless hand.

"Now, don't go thinking this is an empty promise; let me give you a little preview of what awaits you, ok?" Cinder asked in a hushed voice, making Mercury nod like a dumb; Neo simply watched the rare display, an unfitting show that was not proper of Cinder.

Mercury was finally able to ignore the pain and the shakes, Cinder had started with chaste kisses on his lips, a way of teasing, then she planted a fuller kiss, then the full kiss including her tongue asking permission to enter his mouth, but when he caressed her tongue with his, she pulled away.

"Now, now; don't get ahead of yourself; you have yet to resist the interrogation." Cinder said as she put a finger on his lips, yet his hand had beginning to grope her most private parts for all he was worth.

"C-come on! J-just a little more…" Mercury begged without shame, making Cinder smile at his eagerness; Neo was beginning to wonder if she should leave the room to give them privacy, it was one thing to have the opportunity to watch her lord and lady get passionate, and another to watch this vile woman toying with a boy.

"Hmmm… ok, you win; but open wide for a very sloppy kiss, so you can grasp the idea of how wide I'll open for you when making babies." Cinder replied to a dumbfounded Mercury, who nodded like an idiot in heat.

Neo watched with disdain how Mercury licked his lips as he opened his mouth as much as he could, and then she noticed how Cinder did exactly the same, then their mouths connected, and Cinder purposely wen't deeper, as to ensure that his jaw wouldn't be able to close no matter what; it took only a second for the small woman to notice that something was wrong, Mercury's eyes shot wide open, and his expression changed from bliss to horror in an instant. Mercury tried in vain to trash around to free himself, the restrains and the weight of the woman made it impossible for him to get away, and as the trashing began to die down, Neo noticed Cinder's stare focused solely on her, as if to warn her that any sudden moves or sounds would see her the next victim of whatever she was doing to the murderer… then it was over, and Cinder removed herself from atop Mercury's body.

"Oh Mercury, you were right all along; making babies with you was so delightful." Cinder said in a seductive voice as she caressed the cheek of the now fully paralyzed murderer; Neo's curiosity turned into horror as she noticed a really tiny spider-looking grimm still lingering on his open mouth, slowly but surely making its way inside his body.

"Do you want my babies too?" Cinder asked while intently looking at the midget, who glued herself to the wall as if trying to make as much space as possible between her and the monster in the room.

"Then you better not become a burden; now get to the next part of the plan, you need to board an atleasian warship, and I need to plan on how to get rid of our escorts. You'll be branded as Mercury's girlfriend, who ran away after discovering what happened; any objections?" Cinder asked as she sprinkled the contents of the bag all over Mercury's body, knowing very well that Neo will play along nicely, because she wouldn't want to end like the now useless murderer.

That night…

Emerald was finally able to return to her room, escorted by one of the atlesian robots, but safe and sound, and to make it better, without being heavily questioned by the authorities; when she entered the room though, she found that there were another three robots inside, and a rather calm looking Cinder.

"Cinder… can you please tell me what is going on?" Emerald asked with certain apprehension, knowing that anything her leader says will have to be backed up.

"Mercury just happened to be a drug dealer, of the worse kind, he is in the medical ward under arrest, so we can rest assured he won't try anything funny on us; also, his girlfriend ran away, so now we are going to be stuck her for a while. Don't worry; I'm sure they will understand that we are innocent." Cinder said while hugging the thief for added effect.

"And no one will sell us out, I made sure of that." Cinder added by whispering directly into Emerald's ear, sending shivers through her spine.

"That's terrible! And it also explains the questions." Emerald blurted out, earning Cinder's attention.

"Questions? Anyway, how are you, what did the doctors said about what happened to you?" Cinder masked her question with masked concern.

"It was heat-stroke, of all things… one of the soldiers asked me how much I knew about Mercury, but she let me go after seeing that I was not well enough to answer anything; she let me in the care of one of these things though." Emerald replied as casual as she could while pointing at the robot by her side; whatever conversation they were to start was interrupted by a soft knock on their door.

"Yes?" Cinder was the one to answer, just to find Goodwitch standing there with a condescending stare.

"I just came to inform you that your teammate just overdosed himself into a deep coma; it seems that he was able to somehow sneak some of that horrible poison into the medical ward after being checked by the soldiers. In order to make sure that there is not a single spec of it left in this academy, you'll be asked to move to another room while we make this one… safe." Glynda explained in an all business tone, leaving no room to arguments.

"Right now?" Cinder asked as meekly as possible, not failing to notice the group of soldiers in hazmat suits just behind the combat instructor.

"Yes." Glynda deadpanned, apparently ready to find any kind of resistance.

"Are we allowed to take anything with us?" Emerald asked now, not even trying to prevent the soldiers from entering the room.

"No." Glynda deadpanned again, motioning for them to follow her.

"Are you really going to check EVERY nook and cranny? Because I have to inform you that my porn magazines are perfectly legal." Cinder stated as a form to paint herself a humanely normal.

"No, we are going to burn it all to ashes." Glynda explained without turning to look at them, although she did so to not let them see her satisfied smile at her own revenge; the sounds of things set ablaze reached the ears of the three females, and all of them made an inhuman effort to not look back.

Cinder grimaced, but endured it, after all, with this delay, Adam and his forces will be ready for the strike, and with the chaos spread due to Mercury's stupidity, the gimm will be drawn to the city; it was not to her liking, and a lot of things could go wrong, but at least it was still within her reach.

* * *

 **Magnus:** Time to start thinking on my next story... either Konosuba, or my Hero Academia.


End file.
